1969 Posts located
This past year—2007—was another solid one for Korea’s economy. Buoyed by continued strong exports and a pickup in domestic demand, real GDP is estimated to have grown by nearly 5…
The year 2007 demonstrated more clearly than ever that external economic engagement provides a chance to help convince North Korea to abandon isolation and take specific actions toward denuclearization that…
On 30 June 2007, United States Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and Republic of Korea Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong signed the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), an encompassing…
As the first decade of the twenty-first century nears an end, distinct patterns are emerging in the global trading system. The Doha Development Round remains stalled and has begun to…
In March, a curious protest took place in Seoul. Private kindergartens were going on strike. Protests by industry groups or workers are not uncommon in South Korea, but something about…
North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song demanded that the United States release a North Korean vessel that is currently held by authorities in American Samoa, warning that…
It’s been nearly one year since the Singapore Summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un and the two countries are at an impasse. North Korea signals no intention of giving…
What if our understanding of North Korea is inadvertently colored by the very resources that we rely on to deepen our knowledge of the country? What does this say about our policies…
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…