United States of America

Trade ties between the United States and many East Asian countries have faced a high degree of uncertainty since Donald Trump took office in early 2017. The world is now…

During his visit to Asia in November 2017, President Donald Trump announced his vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” as the U.S. approach to the region. The Department of…

Beef trade was a major sticking point between the United States and South Korea in ratifying the KORUS FTA. The outcome of the renegotiations that led to the March 2018…

The sudden announcement of a North Korea-U.S. summit in March 2018 upended all previous diplomacy concerning North Korea’s nuclear program. In return for a bilateral presidential summit, Pyongyang has agreed…

By Robert R. King Earlier this week, on August 15, an advance team of 18 officials from the South Korean Red Cross organization and the South Korean Ministry of Unification left Seoul for the resort at Mount Kumgang in North Korea.  At this location in just a few days, almost two hundred family members from…

By Linnea Logie The current diplomatic thaw between North and South Korea has given rise to a range of sports exchanges, most notably the historic fielding of a unified women’s hockey team at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Such instances of inter-Korean amity date back to 1991, when unified teams competed at the 41st…

By Robert R. King Last Friday (July 27) some 55 sets of human remains were transferred to United States military personnel by North Korean military officials in the city of Wonson, North Korea.  These were identified by the North as the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War.  With great respect and appropriate formal…

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…

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.