United States of America

In the spring of 2009, North Korea’s second nuclear test, its long-range missile tests, and its provocative rhetoric once again threatened stability in Northeast Asia. Once again, North Korea engaged…

Two years and nine months have passed since Korea and the United States put their signatures on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). Nei- ther Korea nor the United…

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…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz In their first two years, Kim Jong-un and the collective leadership in North Korea have found various ways to kill the momentum of positive interaction with North Korea’s neighbors. While Pyongyang has given with one hand with the recent return of its workers to the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), it has taken…

By Troy Stangarone Last week we looked at the results of a recent BBC survey of international perceptions of South Korea’s influence. The same survey asked people around the world about North Korea as well and the one thing that really stands out is that no one, not one single respondent in Japan expressed a…

By Troy Stangarone Sleek. Trendy. Cutting edge. Creative. Elegant. And at times bold. All describe fashion in Korea. For Korea, fashion is very much a part of the culture. From a Korean-American colleague of mine who could go toe-to-toe with any of the world’s fashionistas to the trendy and hip fashions of the recent Yeosu…

By Chad O'Carroll With North Korea having conducted two long range rocket launches in a year, many analysts have been speculating as to why Pyongyang was so keen to try another launch just months after the last one ended in catastrophic failure. One straightforward theory suggests Pyongyang wants an inter-continental ballistic missile capability and that…

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.