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joelatkinson.bsky.social
Joel Atkinson
@joelatkinson.bsky.social
3K followers 330 following 490 posts
Researching and teaching Northeast Asian international politics in Seoul. Opinions my own. joel.p.atkinson@gmail.com
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joelatkinson.bsky.social
Joel Atkinson @joelatkinson.bsky.social · Aug 10
My new Pacific Review article explains why China’s economic & diplomatic coercion of South Korea over the USFK THAAD deployment had little—if anything—to do with protecting its nuclear deterrent
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PAWTC...
joelatkinson.bsky.social
The new issue of the Journal of East Asian Affairs @JOEAA_INSS is out, the English-language journal of South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS). (I am executive editor, with Mason Richey as editor-in-chief)
www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati...
November 7, 2025 at 8:20 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Most newsworthy thing coming out of APEC and it's not even close
November 1, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
mzwheeler.bsky.social
Feeling confident? Think again — you’re probably wrong. www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...
Feeling confident? Think again — you’re probably wrong.
A study finds that overconfidence by many national security experts “was so extreme that it essentially canceled out the knowledge that these individuals possessed.”
www.japantimes.co.jp
October 29, 2025 at 6:22 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
If you want to know how Koreans are reacting to the immigration raid at the battery plant in Georgia, a recent poll has 59.2% responding “I am greatly disappointed in the Trump administration” and 30.7% responding “I understand the Trump administration’s measures”
www.realmeter.net/%eb%a6%ac%ec...
September 9, 2025 at 4:44 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
I'm stunned by this. In 2019 SEALs killed 2-3 North Korean civilians diving for shellfish and now it's in the NYT
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...
How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart
www.nytimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
josephtorigian.bsky.social
In June 1983, Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, hosted Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un, in Beijing. They watched a performance by Peng Liyuan, who years later would marry Xi Jinping.
September 3, 2025 at 12:02 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Kim Jong Un's daughter, Ju-ae, has apparently accompanied him on the visit to Beijing
September 2, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
drmarkpbarry.bsky.social
N. Korea publicly announces leader's plan to attend China's Sept. military parade | Yonhap News Agency en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
N. Korea publicly announces leader's plan to attend China's Sept. military parade | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Friday publicly announced leader Kim Jong-un&apo...
en.yna.co.kr
August 29, 2025 at 2:13 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Asking if students have done the readings
August 29, 2025 at 2:14 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Ah, the customary and highly symbolic presidential exchange of MAGA hats
www.koreatimes.co.kr/photos/photo...
August 26, 2025 at 7:03 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Very colorful Lee and Trump Q&A
www.chosun.com/english/nati...
Trump eyes new DMZ meeting with Kim Jong-un
Trump eyes new DMZ meeting with Kim Jong-un Trump presses for US base control; Lee clarifies probe did not involve American forces, says Seoul–Tokyo rift has eased
www.chosun.com
August 25, 2025 at 10:21 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
This is pretty dark stuff from Lankov: "achieving success in nuclear development will be difficult. But if it does not succeed, I doubt whether the Republic of Korea will have a long-term future"
m.news.nate.com/view/2025082...
August 24, 2025 at 10:28 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Lim Eul-chul, Kyungnam University: "North Korea is seeking to push the Lee Jae Myung administration into making a more drastic shift...by exerting maximum pressure...The key question is whether...[Lee-Trump summit] will show...greater diplomatic autonomy vis-a-vis the US”
Kim Jong-un issues inter-Korean policy rejecting Seoul’s olive branch
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday conveyed his inter-Korean policy plan through his sister Kim Yo-jong, who handed it down during a meeting with key Fo
m.koreaherald.com
August 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
kerim.one
Important piece on the abuse of migrant fishers in Taiwan by @michaelturton.bsky.social, who argues that the government has the power to do something about it—if they wanted to.
Notes from Central Taiwan: Subsidies at root of Taiwan’s migrant fishers abuses - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
www.taipeitimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
joelatkinson.bsky.social
My new Pacific Review article explains why China’s economic & diplomatic coercion of South Korea over the USFK THAAD deployment had little—if anything—to do with protecting its nuclear deterrent
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PAWTC...
August 10, 2025 at 11:01 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
My new Pacific Review article explains why China’s economic & diplomatic coercion of South Korea over the USFK THAAD deployment had little—if anything—to do with protecting its nuclear deterrent
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PAWTC...
August 10, 2025 at 11:01 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
The details/quotes in this story are pure gold
www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/pe...
How a small Seoul hat maker crafted 'MASGA' hat that helped unlock tariff talks - The Korea Times
A red baseball cap embroidered with the slogan “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA)” has emerged as an unlikely symbol of progress in recent U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations. Behind the scenes...
www.koreatimes.co.kr
August 7, 2025 at 8:09 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
This from prof of Chinese foreign policy at Kyung Hee University Jaewoo Choo in 2019 on South Korean progressives’ “pro-China approach” & “a more balanced US policy” helps contextualize the current Lee Jae Myung admin & progressive legislature (if you’re into that kind of thing)t kind of thing):
August 4, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
dylanmotin.bsky.social
If you'd like to learn more about President Lee's policies towards China and Russia, you can check out @joelatkinson.bsky.social's and my appearance on KBS World from yesterday (episode from 07.08, at minute 8).

world.kbs.co.kr/service/prog...
July 9, 2025 at 5:37 AM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
If you want to know why Chinese leader Xi Jinping (probably) talks about “great changes unseen in a century” with Putin and elsewhere—and you definitely should want to know why—I’ve got you covered
thediplomat.com/2025/07/the-...
The Embarrassing Reason Xi Talks about ‘Great Changes Unseen in a Century’
The formulation clearly means something important, but its origins are often obscured.
thediplomat.com
July 6, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
joelatkinson.bsky.social
I explain why Xi Jinping’s signature “Great Changes Unseen in a Century” is likely derivative of a popular Chinese nationalist self-help book, Liu Mingfu’s “China Dream” (2010), which is riffing on a 1994 quote from Kissinger
thediplomat.com/2025/07/the-...
The Embarrassing Reason Xi Talks about ‘Great Changes Unseen in a Century’
The formulation clearly means something important, but its origins are often obscured.
thediplomat.com
July 3, 2025 at 10:43 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
I explain why Xi Jinping’s signature “Great Changes Unseen in a Century” is likely derivative of a popular Chinese nationalist self-help book, Liu Mingfu’s “China Dream” (2010), which is riffing on a 1994 quote from Kissinger
thediplomat.com/2025/07/the-...
The Embarrassing Reason Xi Talks about ‘Great Changes Unseen in a Century’
The formulation clearly means something important, but its origins are often obscured.
thediplomat.com
July 3, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Joel Atkinson
joelatkinson.bsky.social
I wrote something for @aspi-org.bsky.social on why there's no political pathway for South Korea to develop nukes. Short answer: sure, there's popular support, but going nuclear requires a sustained bipartisan consensus, which isn't going to happen
www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-south-ko...
Why South Korea won’t build the bomb | The Strategist
The idea of South Korea developing nuclear weapons is reaching critical mass, if you’ll excuse the pun. Surveys show as much as 70 percent of the public now in favor. There has also been plenty ...
www.aspistrategist.org.au
June 24, 2025 at 10:54 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
I wrote something for @aspi-org.bsky.social on why there's no political pathway for South Korea to develop nukes. Short answer: sure, there's popular support, but going nuclear requires a sustained bipartisan consensus, which isn't going to happen
www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-south-ko...
Why South Korea won’t build the bomb | The Strategist
The idea of South Korea developing nuclear weapons is reaching critical mass, if you’ll excuse the pun. Surveys show as much as 70 percent of the public now in favor. There has also been plenty ...
www.aspistrategist.org.au
June 24, 2025 at 10:54 PM
joelatkinson.bsky.social
Sympathetic article drawing parallels between Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
www.hani.co.kr/arti/english...
June 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM