United States of America

Southeast Asia/ASEAN is enormously important to the “rebalancing” and “pivot” of American policy towards the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, in recent years, there has been considerable scholarly and analytical debate…

China’s ideal outcome for North Korea is a Goldilocks state—one that is not so strong to challenge China or so weak that its implosion threatens Chinese interests. China’s multifaceted approach…

The six-party talks have been hindered by political shifts in the states involved, and especially by changing levels of support for the talks in Washington and Seoul. But the talks…

The United States, Russia, and China have cooperated to help deter North Korea from again invading the South and thus preventing Korean tensions to become a devastating hot war. While…

By Nayoon Lee On November 14th, Han Min-goo, the Minister of National Defense tentatively signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan. Despite the political controversy regarding GSOMIA, which some see as an opportunity to strengthen Korea’s defense and others as drawing too close to an unrepentant Japan, President Park Geun-hye approved…

By Jaeho Jeon South Korea faces a household debt crisis. Household debt reached more than 1,257 trillion won ($1.1 trillion) in the second quarter of this year, up 125.7 trillion won and 11.1 percent from a year ago. This marks the highest level for household debt since the government began compiling related data in 2002.…

By Troy Stangarone As it begins to sink in that the next U.S. president will be Donald Trump, one question that will be on the mind of those in Northeast Asia is what will Donald Trump’s North Korea policy look like? While North Korea was a more significant topic during the 2016 election than in…

By Phil Eskeland Unlike past U.S. elections, President-elect Donald Trump has made trade a centerpiece of his campaign.  In many appearances, he severely criticized what he characterized as “disastrous trade deals” made over the past two decades.  In fact, his closing argument included pictures of padlocked factory gates and abandoned machinery on the shop floor…

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.