United States of America

The relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea is unique; the challenges it faces are not. Next-generation views of the ties between Seoul and Washington do not…

As the U.S. economic crisis was just getting off the ground, many analysts claimed Asia would be relatively immune to the impact because its economies had “decoupled” from the United…

Given the growing importance of East Asia to global stability and prosperity, sustaining the five U.S. treaty alliances in the region—Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines—will…

On 30 June 2007, U.S. and South Korean trade officials signed the U.S.- Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The two countries reached the agreement after 10 months of very…

By Phil Eskeland Seventh wedding anniversaries are oftentimes overlooked.  It is not as glamorous as a 25th silver or 50th golden anniversary.  Gifts associated with a seventh year wedding anniversary in the U.S. are items made either out of copper or wool; a far cry from precious stones linked with other momentous anniversaries.  Nevertheless, on…

By Robert R. King The North Korean Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Kim Song, last week made an urgent request on behalf of his government to the United Nations and its affiliated humanitarian agencies to provide food assistance to his country.  The request said the looming food crisis is the result of a…

By William Brown Some in Washington and elsewhere continue to think sanctions pressures are easing on North Korea, and that Marshal Kim heads into his second summit with President Trump in a strong position.  We face a lot of uncertainties when it comes to North Korea, but Kim is probably not going to Vietnam with the…

By Yea Ji Nam In December 2018, close to a hundred thousand taxi drivers took to the streets around the National Assembly to protest against the launch of a mobile ride-sharing service from Kakao Mobility. Amid these rolling protests, two elderly taxi drivers set themselves on fire to bring attention to the challenges facing Korea’s…

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.