Asia

After the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) is approved by the legislatures of Korea and the United States, it will likely provide a turning point for the countries’ bilateral…

The denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continues to be a source of considerable international concern. Yet, no coherent international framework has emerged to deal with this…

Korea is arguably the premier development success story of the last half century. Despite this success, there has been a nagging sense among many observers that the development of Korea’s…

The unique restriction of a one-time, five-year presidential term in the Republic of Korea (ROK) has often resulted in short-lived changes to the way the nation’s chief executive has staffed…

  In this episode, we talk with Dr. Adam Cathcart of the University of Leeds and of Sino-NK about China-North Korea relations. Dr. Cathcart has just written an Academic Paper Series report…

      President Obama wasn’t the only leader who had to make important visits to multiple Asian countries this past April. Australia’s Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, had to make an important…

  The Francis Effect is everywhere. Time Magazine named Pope Francis their 2013 Person of the Year, another magazine dedicated specifically to covering Pope Francis has been started in Italy,…

Public opinion can help to both shape and inform public policy. A president with strong approval numbers across ideological divides has significant scope to make policy decisions. While a national…

By Juni Kim In light of recent terrorist incidents that have spread across the globe, South Koreans have voiced concerns about global terrorism possibly reaching their shores. A poll conducted by Korea Gallup in 2015 indicated that 70 percent of South Koreans believed that a terrorist attack similar to the attack in Paris last November…

By Juni Kim In a year marked by turbulent Korean relations, the Rio Games provided the backdrop for two modest moments of North-South reconciliation. South Korean gymnast Lee Eun-ju posed with her fellow North Korean competitor Hong Un-jong for a selfie, which quickly became viral. A few days later, Kim Song-guk, the North Korean bronze…

By Juni Kim North Korea watchers have been busy for the last few days thanks to the high-profile defection of DPRK’s second-in-command in London, Thae Yong-Ho. While information will continue to emerge about Thae and his motivations, here are five interesting facts that we know thus far.   He defected with his family Thae was…

By Jiwon Nam Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries. TPP originated with countries including Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand and Chile in 2005 as Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, which were later joined by eight additional countries. The final agreement was signed by the twelve initial members on February…