KEI Contributor – William Brown

This chapter takes the perspective of North Korea’s leadership as it confronts difficult economic problems in the remaining months of 2018. The major current and potential issues are listed and…

Much is made in Western circles of North Korea’s economic dependence on China amid questions of whether and how much leverage this gives Beijing. In an end game, however, Pyongyang…

North Korea badly needs change but whether that change can and should be induced or forced from the outside is open to question. This paper proceeds from the perspective that…

The U.S. and South Korean economies rebounded faster than expected in the second quarter this year, with annualized rates rising 3 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. Growth remains steady despite widespread predictions of recessions in both countries, driven in part by political changes in Korea and large tariff announcements in the United States. Forecasts for…

The United States and South Korea scored nearly identical GDP results in the first quarter of 2025 according to newly updated but still preliminary data. Both showed slightly negative change from the fourth quarter of 2024; the United States declining at a negative 0.2 percent rate and South Korea at a negative 0.8 percent rate,…

The South Korean won has reached record lows against the U.S. dollar in recent days, just as heavy U.S. tariffs against what President Donald Trump says is an unsustainable South Korean trade surplus threaten the country’s exports. The issue, however, is not new. The won—now close to 1,500 to the dollar—was hit hard by the…

Western media and foreign policy specialists point to a self-confident Kim Jong Un, willing to take large risks as he again contemplates dealing face-to-face with US President Donald Trump and as he works closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin to send weapons and soldiers into the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kim continues to fire UN-prohibited…