KEI Contributor – Mark Tokola

Mark Tokola has joined the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) as its Vice President. Mr. Tokola comes to KEI with over 38 years of experience in the U.S. Department…

Does the forty-fifth president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, have a foreign policy, not least of all inclusive of the vital Northeast Asian region? The question is not…

With an outbreak of diplomacy under way for the Korean Peninsula, a review of North Korea’s approach to negotiations is timely. A summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and…

For the proverbial visitor from Mars, the political situation in Northeast Asia is inexplicable. Sitting amidst a group of relatively stable, wealthy, and powerful countries, is a small, poor, belligerent…

Today’s relationship between the United States and China is more varied, complex, and cooperative than the accumulation of headlines would lead one to believe. The news media and commentators spotlight…

By Mark Tokola First, there was widespread relief that we finally have a new Ambassador to South Korea, retired Admiral Harry B. Harris. It has seemed more than odd not to have had an American Ambassador in Seoul during the eventful past year-and-a-half. Then, commentators began speculating on the meaning of this particular appointment. One…

By Mark Tokola Even before the June 12 Singapore Summit, but particularly since then, the question being asked is whether Kim Jong-un really intends to denuclearize North Korea. Commentators are divided on whether: (1) his offer is sincere, (2) he has no intent to denuclearize and is simply buying time through negotiations for sanctions to…

By Mark Tokola The June 12 summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un was neither a triumph nor a defeat for the United States or North Korea.  Rather than reading the Joint Statement as a deal to be judged, it is more accurate to see it as a glimpse of a process.   In standard…

By Mark Tokola The McClatchy news service carried an article on March 1 titled “Global charity stops medical grants to North Korea over doubts about use of aid.” The article described a decision by The Global Fund to stop providing malaria and tuberculosis aid to North Korea because of concerns that the assistance was being…