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 William B. Brown “War” might be a little strong, but I think everyone would agree it’s at least a fierce and growing skirmish.  China’s Customs Bureau on Friday reported a sharp, 23 percent drop in exports to North Korea in December from the year-earlier month, to $258 million, and a stunning 83 percent drop…

By Kyle Ferrier It was only just reported last week that South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa will be attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Her visit to the annual conference most closely associated with globalization marks the first time a South Korean foreign minister has participated since Yoon Byung-se attended in…

By Juni Kim Last week, two minor South Korean political parties, the People’s Party and the Bareun Party, announced an agreement to merge into a new centrist party. Although the agreement has not been finalized, the merger if completed would be a significant test for the viability of an influential third political party in a…

By Troy Stangarone In 2017, much of the world’s attention turned to the Korean Peninsula. South Korean politics underwent major changes as President Park Geun-hye became the first South Korean president to be removed from office and a snap election was held in May that saw the election of Moon Jae-in. North Korea also dominated…

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.