Asia

During the past few years, the United States has begun three important initiatives that alter its defense commitment to South Korea (Republic of Korea [ROK]). First, Washington started to decrease…

In October 2006, Kim Jong-il’s North Korea again seized international attention. With its claimed underground nuclear test, Pyongyang upped the ante in its confrontation with the United States and the…

President Donald Trump is off on his longest international trip yet, stopping in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. There, he is expected to tackle a range of…

As a communist state, North Korea has promised to provide its people with basic services, including healthcare and medical treatment. However, particularly in recent years, the cash-strapped Kim regime has…

With North Korea becoming an increasingly dangerous threat to the U.S. and its allies, it can be all too easy to overlook North Korea’s origins and how its foreign policy…

Many of the news stories about North Korea that make their way into the Western media fall into one of two categories: 1) breaking news about provocations and the nuclear…

By David S. Maxwell As we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the 1953 ROK/U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty we should keep in mind that celebrate is the right word for Koreans and Americans to attach to this milestone.  We can proudly look back on its success. In so doing we should realize that it remains relevant…

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 Jongsung Kim, Ph.D. Earlier this month, the Strategy and Finance Committee in the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly held a hearing on the household debt policies (가계부채 정책  청문회) in Korea. The rising household debt in Korea is a critical issue, and a clear symbol of its importance was the high level of government…

By Jinho Park An intense political debate is currently taking place in South Korea on reforming the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The current controversy over intelligence reform is somewhat unique in that it is not caused by an intelligence failure, but rather by its alleged interference with the 2012 presidential election. Further adding to the…