United States of America

Strengthening economic ties among South Korea, Southeast Asia, and the United States would contribute to shared goals and facilitate growth in the wider Asia-Pacific community. After reviewing Korea-Southeast Asia ties,…

South Korea (Republic of Korea – ROK) is well recognizedfor achieving remarkable success: transforming itself from an impoverished, war-torn society into a modern, developed, and democratic nation within the span…

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…

KEI’s Chad 0'Carroll recently interviewed Dr. Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University on the prospects for economic reform in North Korea and reunification. Dr. Lankov is scholar of Asia and a specialist in North Korea. Part 1 of the interview focuses on the likelihood that the new regime in Pyongyang will undertake economic reforms. Part 2,…

By Chad 0'Carroll As South Korea evaluates a range of advanced fighter jets in preparation for an October decision on upgrading part of its air force, North Korean air force commanders are likely getting increasingly worried about their capacity to defend the skies of the DPRK. Although Pyongyang has long possessed a much larger air…

By Chad 0'Carroll Last week the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a report which put Eritrea as the world’s leading censor of the media.  Eritrea sat on top of a list of ten countries which CPJ said had “dictatorial controls” on domestic media, followed closely by North Korea, Syria and Iran.  North Korea, which…

By Chad 0Carroll North Korea continues to ratchet up its belligerent rhetoric against South Korea, this week threatening to destroy a range of South Korean targets including the Blue House and the offices of various (and named) conservative newspapers and television stations. Rather spectacularly, DPRK state media claimed its military would “reduce all the rat-like…

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.