In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

On Tuesday in Hanoi, Le Huu Trac National Institute of Burns (NIB) and The Asia Foundation launched a one-year project worth over US$125,000 to reduce the number of burn accidents in Vietnam through effective prevention education and development of improved skills for local care givers. Annually, it is estimated that between 15,000 ” 16,000 people are severely burned nationwide caused by a range of accidents such as hot water, hot food, flames from petrol or electric sparks, and chemicals.

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This entry is a summary of a presentation given at an international conference sponsored by the Korea Institute for National Unification titled, “The June 15 Summit and the Building of a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula,” held on June 7, 2007.

The history of the American security role on the Korean peninsula is well-known. Despite dramatic changes in the global structure of international relations, the relative power of North and South Korea, the nature of the inter-Korean relationship, and the dramatic economic and political transformation that has taken place in South Korea ” the nature, forms, and objectives of the American security presence in and commitments to the Korean peninsula have essentially remained unchanged.

However, the role of the United States in maintaining stability on the Korean peninsula has diminished, making South Korea, not the United States, the natural negotiating partner for North Korea on security issues. The Pyongyang leadership, meanwhile, still sees the United States as the preferred political partner for addressing both the nuclear issue and conventional arms reductions.

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