Asia

While Tokyo and Seoul are often paired as key U.S. allies in Asia, and both alliances are now more solid than ever, their individual alliance dynamics have varied in important…

On December 28, 2015, the Japanese and South Korean governments announced their agreement on the “comfort women” issue. This sudden breakthrough 70 years after the end of WWII and 24…

Most analysis of the extended nuclear crisis that first broke in 2002 has focused, quite legitimately, on the realm of high politics: the diplomatic and military strategies of the contending…

China-North Korea trade accounts for the majority of North Korea’s international trade and is considered significant for the economic development and social stability of North Korea. Due to the fourth…

North Korea is putting on a tough face as the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities in Pyongyang continue to reassure the rest of the world that nothing is wrong…

Looking back on the Korean War, one might assume that the outbreak of a violent conflict that killed millions of people would preclude the possibility of a peaceful resolution of…

It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the Korean War shaped world history. There had been bloodshed elsewhere that bookmarked the start of the bitter conflict between the…

The international force that answered the United Nation’s call to defend the Republic of Korea between 1950 and 1953 did more than engage in combat with North Korean and Chinese…

As Korea and Japan work to resolve their differences, their neighbor China has been watching very carefully. After the summit, the Chinese foreign ministry emphasized the need for stable economic relations for prosperity between Beijing, Seoul and Tōkyō. “China opposes certain countries’ attempts to form exclusionary cliques,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin…

Last December, South Korea and Vietnam commemorated their 30th diplomatic anniversary by upgrading the bilateral relations from a ‘strategic partnership’ to a ‘comprehensive and strategic partnership (CSP).’ South Korea represents a notable case as the first middle power to establish such relations with Vietnam, following China, Russia, and India. While economic, technological, and security cooperation…

March saw President Yoon Suk Yeol make significant efforts to realize his campaign goal of rehabilitating relations with Japan. After a trip to Tōkyō to meet with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, the president told his Cabinet that the two countries must look towards the future. “Korea-Japan relations can and must be a win-win relationship that…

On March 30, the South Korean Ministry of Unification published a 450-page report on human rights abuses in North Korea.  The report was drafted in accordance with the provisions of South Korea’s North Korea Human Rights Act of 2016, which specifies that the Ministry of Unification shall produce an annual report on human rights in…