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…

  With the recent retirement by Yi So-yeon, South Korea’s remaining astronaut, many have turned attention to Korea, wondering whether there is a future for its space program. According to Daniel Pinkston of the…

      Since the famine of the 1990s, North Korea has continued to face periods of chronic food shortages. However, the humanitarian needs of the people in North Korea…

    North Korea has engaged in various forms of economic reforms and marketization attempts such as establishing Special Economic Zones and obtaining Foreign Direct Investment. Yet, many of North…

    In this episode, we talk with Dr. Yiagadeesen Samy of Carleton University on income inequality in South Korea and its affect on Korea’s economy. Dr. Samy is an economist…

South Korea has faced political paralysis since President Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3, 2024, declaration of martial law, the rapid reversal of that decision by the National Assembly, and the ensuing crisis. The Constitutional Court will decide on April 4, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. KST whether to uphold the Assembly’s decision to impeach President Yoon.…

The digital trade landscape in South Korea offers significant opportunities for U.S. companies, but it also presents a range of challenges. As one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, South Korea is a lucrative market for digital trade. However, U.S. companies eager to tap into this potential face various challenges, including regulatory…

For decades, U.S. foreign assistance has played a pivotal role in advancing U.S. interests, strengthening alliances, and promoting stability in key regions of the world. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Asia, where U.S. development cooperation with South Korea—itself a model for the benefits of U.S. foreign assistance—has been a vital tool for…

South Korea’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement sets a target of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent by 2030 (relative to their peak in 2018). Korea also aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (Figure 1, Panel A). The targets are ambitious, as Korea was the world’s thirteenth-largest GHG…