United States of America

On 1 April 2007 Korea and the United States finally completed their year-long negotiations to conclude the Korea- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), which was then signed by the…

President Lee Myung-bak won a landslide victory in 2007. His popularity before the election was obvious, and it came as a surprise to almost no one that he won by…

The world can only hope the recent U.S.-North Korean bilateral discussions will revive the six-power talks and lead to Pyongyang’s renunciation of its nuclear weapons ambitions. Hope, however, is not…

This paper builds on Kiyota and Stern (2007), in which we analyzed the economic effects of a U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (KORUSFTA). In Section II, we review the objectives and…

By Troy Stangarone For the first time a sitting U.S. president will meet with the leader of North Korea when Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un meet in Singapore on June 12. While President Trump has recently described the meeting as the beginning of a process and a meet and greet, there are seven issues that…

KEI Communications Director Jenna Gibson, host of the KEI podcast Korean Kontext, recently interviewed Ambassador Joseph Yun, former U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy at the State Department. The following is a partial transcript of that conversation, which has been edited for space. The rest of the episode can be found here. Gibson: I…

By Jenna Gibson Although they may not know it, over the last few years, American TV watchers have seen several Korean TV shows appear on their screens. NBC’s “Better Late Than Never,” which follows the antics of American celebrities in their 70s and 80s as they travel around the world together, was based on the…

By Troy Stangarone In announcing that the June 12 summit in Singapore with Kim Jong-un is back on, President Donald Trump suggested that he was no longer looking for a process where the dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs would happen rapidly. Instead, he conceded to North Korea’s position that it should be…

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.