Korea, South

2018 has been an incredibly eventful year for both the Koreas and the U.S.-Korea relationship: from North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics at the start of the year to…

Interest in the Korean peninsula is generally very narrow in the United States – it tends to be focused on North Korea and security issues, particularly the country's ballistic and…

What does a unified Korea look like? Beyond the question of whether the government of this new country will be a unitary or federal one, how will the people –…

The Trump Administration is once again considering using Section 232 to impose tariffs on imported goods based on a threat to national security. The President originally used this provision to…

By Phil Eskeland During the past several weeks, international viewers were treated to a series of broadcasts from major news outlets trumpeting every bellicose statement and video from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).  This culminated two weeks ago, in the run-up to two North Korean anniversaries where “something” was expected to happen, with one…

By Jinho Park While North Korea ratchets up the tension in Northeast Asia, Kim Jong-un made the bold—though not surprising—decision of withdrawing all North Korean workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Recently, South Korea and the United States together have called for a dialogue with North Korea. North Korea has dismissed the offer by denouncing…

By Troy Stangarone As often happens with North Korea, there have recently been suggestions that the regime may be interested in engaging in economic reforms. The latest hopes spring from the appointment of Pak Pong-ju, a noted economic reformer, as prime minister and the replacement of most ministers of industry with officials believed to have…

This week’s Highlighted Trend features the visualization of a dramatic trend occurring in South Korea’s balance of trade with its partners over the last thirty years. KITA data reveals that over time, South Korea is undergoing an increasing level of trade polarization (i.e. greater degrees of trade imbalances) vis- à-vis its trading partners.  China and…

Please join KEI and KIEP for a discussion about the first 10 years of KORUS and the future of the U.S.-Korea economic relationship.