Asia

Digitalization could open a new era of growth for Korea. Previous expansion waves, based on traditional industries, have fostered export-led growth and placed Korea among the world’s top ten economies.…

After an initial surge in cases, Korea was less seriously affected by the COVID-19 virus than other countries, but the subsequent recovery was relatively mild. The negative effect was concentrated…

This paper deals with one of the most critical issues in contemporary international relations: how China’s rise challenges foreign policies of U.S. allies, with a focus on the Republic of…

The rivalry between the United States and China is affecting countries in its midst. This particularly applies to South Korea. The country is a strong economic player with a successful…

Volcanologist Dr. Kayla Iacovino traveled to North Korea in 2013 as part of a team that was collaborating with North Korean scientists to study Mt. Baekdu, one of Korea's most…

Nicholas Hamisevicz has been KEI's director of research and academic affairs for four years. Now, he is leaving KEI to pursue his Ph.D at Catholic University. But before he goes,…

Within China, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is a principle stakeholder in Beijing’s policy decision-making. In recent years, PLA officials have penned some of the more interesting, and forceful, articles…

Over the past few years, North Korea has been holding press conferences starring so-called re-defectors – people who fled to the South and chose to return. Researchers Steven Denney and…

Recent debates on South Korea securing an independent nuclear weapons capacity have addressed several issues, including strategic relevance and operational utility, its impact on the U.S. alliance, how it will affect the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula, and its contribution to the regional arms competition. Less discussed has been the question of South…

The Korean Peninsula is currently in a pattern of tit-for-tat provocation: short and long-range missile tests; combined training exercises; artillery live-fire exercises, and border area fighter jet sorties. The pattern in place will reach a new level if and when North Korea undertakes its seventh nuclear test. What will this mean in the context of…

Ahead of the Chuseok holiday last month, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said South Korea was interested in negotiations with North Korea about holding another round of inter-Korean family reunions. The urgency of the issue has only increased since the last time they were held, back in 2018. In his remarks at a government press conference,…

During the second inter-Korean summit in 2007, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il discussed, among other issues, building military trust and establishing special peace and cooperation zones in the West Sea. In the years leading up to the summit, South and North Korean military officials spent considerable time discussing these…