Asia

As one might say that, without a proper understanding of juche, Kim Il-sung’s North Korea cannot be comprehended, one might also say that a proper understanding of Kim Jong-il’s North…

Brushes with the law experienced by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) include its behavior with respect to its own laws, international contracts, international dispute resolution, international treaties, and legal…

The global community has plainly noticed the critical role played by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in inducing change in North Korea’s diplomatic behavior, particularly with respect to the…

After North Korea’s nuclear test on 9 October 2006, the fate of South Korea’s engagement policy with North Korea seemed to hang in the balance. To many, the nuclear test…

This week, we delve into how Japan views the security threat from China, and how these perceptions shape Japanese policy. For this, we turn to security expert Dr. Narushige Michishita.…

Last week, North Korea launched its Seventh Worker's Party Congress, a major meeting of regime leaders that has not been convened in 36 years. Although analysts had high expectations for…

In this episode, we take a step back from the Korean Peninsula and take a look at Northeast Asia from the perspective of one of its neighbors – Russia. In…

On May 1, South Korean President Park Geun-hye will travel to Tehran, Iran for a summit meeting with her counterpart, President Hassan Rouhani. This visit will be the first time a…

I’m currently completing a book on North Korea watchers - the community of scholars, analysts, government officers, NGO advocates and journalists who, for one reason or another, commit a portion of their lives to watching North Korea. After twenty-five years in government, academia and consultancy, with much of my time working on Korean Peninsula affairs,…

Elizabeth Salmón, the recently-appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, submitted her first report to the UN Human Rights Council on March 9.  The report is set to be discussed on March 20 as part of the Council’s broad human rights agenda in Geneva from…

One of the most exciting corporate drama in recent memory has unfolded in South Korea’s business world, complete with a founder accused of siphoning money, activist shareholders making waves, intra-family drama, and industry titans battling for pole position. Best of all, it involves SM Entertainment (SME), the production company  widely credited with the creation of…

This piece is one of 12 contributions to KEI’s special project on South Korea’s nuclear armament debate that will run on The Peninsula blog over the next month. The project’s contributors include young, emerging, and mid-career voices, examining the debate from a historical, a domestic, and an international perspective. On Wednesday, March 15, KEI will host…