Asia

This paper examines policies in the renewables sector across various countries and where political tensions could generate suboptimal outcomes for the sector’s development. In its analysis of supply- and demand-side…

With North Korea becoming increasingly politically isolated, there are few channels through which the international community can remain engaged. Despite the distaste most have for Pyongyang politics, more than 24…

This paper compares Sino–South Korean management of bilateral economic and political tensions; it argues that China’s WTO entry has provided an external institutional framework for managing disputes on the economic…

On 19 December 2003, the leader of Libya, Col. Muammar El-Qaddafi, shocked the world by abruptly stating that his country was renouncing its attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction…

When you hear about trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan in the news, people are usually talking about how these three countries can work together to…

In this episode, Korean Kontext speaks with Ms. Jie-ae Sohn, President of Arirang TV & Radio, Korea's first English language international broadcast system. Ms. Sohn worked as the former CNN…

Last week, the news of a high-level defection by a North Korean diplomat stationed in London captivated North Korea watchers. For the next few says, analysts and the media speculated…

Ghosts and goblins are everywhere in Korean folktales, causing havoc for people through their antics. Equally common are the shamans who act as intermediaries, helping offer solutions to life's supernatural…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz After Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in 2008, the transition process appeared to quicken the pace to prepare for a North Korea after the Dear Leader. Now that Kim Jong-il has died, the world will see if the pieces were put into the correct spots for a successful transition of power, especially…

By Troy Stangarone The anniversary of China’s formal entry in to the WTO ten years ago this week comes as a mixed blessing for many of its trading partners. China’s entry into the WTO brought the world’s most populous nation into the rules based trading system that is the WTO and created new economic opportunities…

This week reports emerged that hundreds of North Korean nuclear experts are currently working in major nuclear facilities throughout Iran, adding to suspicions that the two countries have been collaborating in the nuclear realm for some time.  This follows on the heels of reports that Iranian technicians were allegedly dispatched to North Korea to assist in…

By Troy Stangarone For the first time this year, Korea has surpassed the $1 trillion mark in annual trade volume, making it just one of nine nations to do so. This milestone comes after years of intensive export lead growth that have transformed Korea from one of the poorest nations in the world into a…