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North Koreans attend a mass rally against the U.S., bearing signs that read "decisive revenge" and "death to the American imperialists," Pyongyang, North Korea, Sept. 23, 2017 (AP photo by Jon Chol Jin).
ColumnAsia-Pacific
Are Switzerland and Sweden the Keys to Easing the North Korean Crisis?

The opening of the United Nations General Assembly has historically been a chance for world leaders to trade platitudes about peace. This year’s edition of the U.N. jamboree may have increased the risks of a major conflict in Asia. U.S. President Donald Trump told the assembly that he would “have no choice but to totally destroy” North Korea if the U.S. is “forced to defend itself or its allies” from Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. In the days that followed, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, threatened to punish the “dotard” Trump, and its foreign minister told the General Assembly […]

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump before a meeting during the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, New York, Sept. 18, 2017 (AP photo by Seth Wenig).
ColumnGlobal
Nikki Haley Has Become the Face of U.S. Diplomacy Under Trump

When U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his fiery first speech at the United Nations General Assembly this week, one person in the audience watched with particular interest, bracing herself for what would come next. After all, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, knew it would be her job to deal with the fallout of her boss’s words, which, predictably, kicked up a storm of controversy. In a surprising twist during a presidency filled with surprises, Haley has become the face of American diplomacy in the age of Trump. It is Haley who has to take Trump’s coarse ideas […]

Actress Angelina Jolie, left, shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.N. headquarters, New York, Sept. 14, 2017 (AP photo by Mary Altaffer).
ColumnGlobal
Will the U.N. General Assembly Mark the Start of ‘Act Two’ for Guterres?

Antonio Guterres is growing a little less enigmatic. Since becoming secretary-general of the United Nations in January, Guterres has often been a rather opaque figure. As I noted in July, he “tends to take decisions with a small circle of advisers, sidelining perplexed U.N. officials he thinks are not up to snuff.” There has been a good deal of grumbling in the U.N. Secretariat about the new chief’s management style, while human rights advocates have faulted him for failing to speak out strongly enough on global injustices. But with world leaders gathering for a week of high-level meetings in New […]

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., listens during the Security Council’s nonproliferation meeting on North Korea at U.N. headquarters, New York, Sept. 4, 2017 (AP photo by Bebeto Matthews).
ColumnAsia-Pacific
Will Russia Apply Its ‘Syria Model’ to U.N. Diplomacy Over North Korea?

Russia is flexing its diplomatic muscles at the United Nations again. Moscow appears intent on using the U.N. to complicate American efforts to put pressure on North Korea and sow confusion over its own intentions toward Ukraine. Western diplomats should be alert, because Russia is a fine player of the U.N. game. World leaders gather in New York next week for the new U.N. General Assembly session. All eyes will be on U.S. President Donald Trump. His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be absent. But Moscow knows how to make its presence felt in New York. Just days after Putin […]