United States of America

Adhering to the action-for-action framework of the February 13, 2007 agreement, North Korea and the United States traded symbolic actions last week that grabbed the headlines—explosive video footage of North…

For Korea watchers—and particularly for those of us who worked closely on events associated with President Lee’s visit to Washington—April was a very rewarding month. After multiple protocol meetings, site…

KEI recently completed its seventeenth annual Ambassadors’ Dialogue program. The tour was the third featuring Lee Tae-sik, the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to the United States, and Alexander Vershbow, United…

On September 20, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) released its report on the KORUS FTA. The ITC study is a required analysis under Trade Promotion Authority that explores the…

By Phil Eskeland Before boarding Marine One on the White House lawn on his way to Lima, Ohio, President Donald Trump once again dangled the possibility of imposing tariffs as high as 25 percent on imported motor vehicles and parts as a tool to pressure the European Union in trade talks.  His cajoling is made…

By William Brown New data shows North Korea’s imports of agricultural consumer goods from China, generally sold in markets, are holding up well in contrast to plummeting imports of investment goods procured by and for the state. This may be helping Kim control inflation and supports the won but carries ominous implications for the future…

By Phil Eskeland As we continue to examine the effect of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on its 7th anniversary, one of the major sticking points in the negotiations was the treatment of various agricultural products.  Because South Korean tariffs on agricultural imports were very high (averaging 55.4 percent vs. 3.8 percent for…

By Yonho Kim North Korea threatened to suspend denuclearization talks with the United States about two weeks after the Hanoi summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un failed. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui at a news conference in Pyongyang said that Kim was considering discontinuing the 15 month-long moratorium…

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.