Korea, North

In this special episode of Korean Kontext, KEI's Juni Kim sat down with three North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea. Each of them has a different story…

The upcoming presidential election in Korea on May 9th will place many key issues under the microscope. One meriting serious consideration that has featured less prominently in the political discourse…

After the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex last year, economic ties between North and South Korea have all but ceased. And as sanctions measures continue to tighten, the international…

Ever since last summer, when South Korea and the United States announced they would be deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to the peninsula, China…

By William Brown Can an economy grow by being told to do so? Kim Jong-un is launching his “economy first” messaging, spreading the word inside North Korea that he is sincere in his new emphasis on economic growth and improved living standards. And many Koreans on both sides of the DMZ seem to be buying…

By Linnea Logie Kim Jong-un and his inner circle have since the beginning of 2018 professed their ardent desire for peace on the Korean peninsula.  Yet however impassioned their rhetorical allusions to the prospect of peacefully reunifying the Korean peninsula and integrating North Korea (DPRK) into the global community, North Korean leaders are keenly aware…

By Juni Kim A relentless and unprecedented heat wave continues to scorch South Korea with little relief in sight. Cities across the country have recorded all-time high temperatures in recent days, with temperatures peaking above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported yesterday that ten people have…

By Robert R. King A few days ago during a visit to Seoul, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, called for an investigation into conditions under which 12 North Korean waitresses and their manager who defected from China to South Korea two years ago with the help…

Please join KEI for a discussion on North Korea’s potential incorporation of AI into its cyber arsenal.