Suchergebnisse

Using a historical approach based on newly declassified materials, I attempt to explain the correlation or contradiction between the open "Korea Clause" of 1969 and the secret "Korean Minute" of 1960, both of which were issued by the US-Japan alliance regarding the security of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The existing literature has emphasized the Korea Clause in explaining the Japanese commitment to the security of the ROK and the Japan-ROK military connection. However, I argue that the Korea Clause was merely political rhetoric initiated by Japan to neutralize the written Korean Minute. One of the key aims of US military policy toward Northeast Asia was to secure a free hand in using US forces and bases in Japan. In this context, the Korean Minute backed by the authority of the United Nations legalized the right of US forces to carry out sorties without prior consultation with the Japanese government in case of a Korean crisis. While Japan attempted to terminate the Korean Minute by politicizing it, the United States adopted a stance of benign neglect against it, especially by maintaining the United Nations Command. The Korean Minute remains valid today, and the US-Japan-ROK triangle continues to function legally based on it. (Asian Perspect/GIGA)

The establishment of Communist power in North Korea represents one more example of the triumph of purposive political behaviour over impersonal economic and social forces and as such merits the attention of all those who are concerned about the survival of the theory and practice of a free society in a shrinking world. If purposive Communist behaviour can become the prime mover of history, then so can the dedicated efforts of those with different conceptions of ends and means in the solution of human problems.

This study was performed to determine the incidence and seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in young soldiers in the Republic of Korea Army. From January 2000 through December 2004, a total of 147 hepatitis A cases were reported to the Armed Forces Medical Command. The annual incidence rates were 7.4 per 100,000 persons in 2000, 1.6 in 2001, 4.4 in 2002, 9.8 in 2003, and 6.2 in 2004, based on the reported cases among approximately 500,000 soldiers. All patients were males with a median age of 21 yr (range, 19-27). The most common symptom was nausea (86.5%), and all patients had recovered without complications. In addition, in order to evaluate the seroprevalence of HAV infection in young adults, serum samples were obtained from randomly selected young subjects among those who had been admitted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital from September 2005 to February 2006. A total of 200 subjects were enrolled in the study to analyze the anti-HAV immune status. The overall anti-HAV IgG seropositive rate was 2% (4/200, 95% CI, 0.60-5.21%). Given the changing epidemiology of the disease and the associated increase in morbidity, it was suggested that routine HAV vaccination for Korean military personnel might be necessary.