Asia

The Fall 2024 issue of Korea Policy, Broadening the Alliance: New Frontiers in US-South Korea Cooperation, is a special issue focused on the US-ROK alliance. The issue is motivated by…

The Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol administrations have embraced the expansion of economic cooperation within the US-ROK alliance, leading to the emergence of South Korea as a valued technology partner…

The security alliance between the United States and South Korea, once focused primarily on military defense, is evolving to include economic security and technological cooperation. The evolving partnership between the…

This paper elucidates how Washington and Seoul cooperate on AI and quantum technologies, both recognized as critical emerging technologies essential to their national interests. Technology cooperation is denoted as government-to-government…

  With the recent retirement by Yi So-yeon, South Korea’s remaining astronaut, many have turned attention to Korea, wondering whether there is a future for its space program. According to Daniel Pinkston of the…

      Since the famine of the 1990s, North Korea has continued to face periods of chronic food shortages. However, the humanitarian needs of the people in North Korea…

    North Korea has engaged in various forms of economic reforms and marketization attempts such as establishing Special Economic Zones and obtaining Foreign Direct Investment. Yet, many of North…

    In this episode, we talk with Dr. Yiagadeesen Samy of Carleton University on income inequality in South Korea and its affect on Korea’s economy. Dr. Samy is an economist…

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s signal foreign policy achievement is arguably the forging of trilateral security cooperation between the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and the United States. During the past year, the leaders of all three nations have moved unusually quickly to institutionalize the structure of cooperation. The desire to consolidate progress seems to have…

This year began with a trip by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro to visit Korean shipyards and court Korean investment in US shipbuilding. In June 2024, Hanwha Ocean made a bid to purchase Philly Shipyard and secure a foothold for Korean shipbuilding in the United States. While Hanwha Ocean had previously bid for…

As multiple conflicts abroad caused ripples through the world of commerce and trade, the United States and South Korea came into the year broadly aligned on strategies to derisk and diversify supply chains, extending efforts to limit single country reliance on key material imports and integrating national security with economic security. Investments in advanced manufacturing…

Financial issues plagued North Korea in 2024 with Kim Jong Un’s singular success, halting the hyperinflation and currency debasement, suddenly coming unraveled in mid-year. After a decade of price and currency stability, the value of the North Korean won suddenly fell by about two-thirds between July and December. By year’s end, 27,000 won was needed…