Asia

During the last two years ago, U.S.-South Korea relations have strengthened in ways that many Korea watchers did not expect. With a liberal President Barack Obama entering office, some feared…

Last year was a momentous year for the Korean Peninsula. As the world worked its way out of the global and financial crisis of 2008-2009, South Korea demonstrated its global…

On November 2-6, KEI President Jack Pritchard and KEI Director Nicole Finneman visited Pyongyang to discuss with North Korean officials the current state of North Korea’s foreign relations and gain…

In less than two weeks world leaders will arrive in Seoul for two days of intense discussions on the current global economic recovery. Unlike the prior G-20 meetings during the…

Although it is happening more rapidly in South Korea, an aging society is a common feature in post-industrial societies around the world. With the number of retirees growing and the…

In March, Seoul suffered from the worst air pollution on record. Enough that the South Korean government has officially designated the problem as a "social disaster." But what is causing…

Over the past few years, Korea and Koreans have experienced incredible political, social, and diplomatic shifts. It is hard keeping up with all these new developments as a Korea Watcher,…

Even before the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, foreign policy practitioners and observers were talking about the difficulties of sequencing international sanctions relief for North Korea…

U.S. and South Korean companies continued to plow ahead and forge partnerships across several domains in Q2 despite uncertainty surrounding bilateral trade relations and policy. Bolstered by partnerships in technology, shipbuilding, clean energy, and artificial intelligence, new projects include Korean firms constructing U.S. containerships as well as unmanned surface vehicle (USV) development, providing greater support…

New South Korean President Lee Jae-myung takes office at a time of serious economic challenges in South Korea. Real GDP fell by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2025, with private consumption, fixed investment and exports all reporting declines. The political crisis triggered by Yoon Suk Yeol and his martial law declaration late last…

According to the World Bank, certain minerals associated with battery technology are expected to see relative increases in demand of up to 500 percent by 2050 as part of the global transition to clean energy. Thus, sourcing critical minerals for the clean energy transition will be paramount to its success, particularly in the context of…

On June 10, Cuba’s first Ambassador to South Korea Claudio Monzón Baeza formally opened his country’s embassy in Seoul. The festive event was held with the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director-general for Latin American affairs and included remarks from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director-general for Asia and Oceania. The Cuban diplomats…