Asia

South Korea is currently engaged, once again, in a large-scale, expensive modernization of its military that aims to provide the country with a more robust and self-sufficient defense. The timing…

Globalization is a hallmark of the twenty first-century world. As transportation and telecommunications grow in both efficiency and level of performance and as the ambit of the Internet expands, it…

The penetration of the Internet in Korean society is usually seen as a positive development, perhaps even a model for other countries; more efficient bureaucracy, more political figures making use…

In the field of international security, few connections have been made between the Korean peninsula with the Middle East. Traditional regional studies literature focuses on Korean issues within the Asia…

  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…

This is the first part in a three part series on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The second part of the series can be found here and the third part here. By Taeho Bark The United States (U.S.) used to be always the largest export market for the Korean products during 1970s and 1980s. The…

By Mark Tokola Reasonable people, especially people new to looking at policy on the Korean Peninsula, might wonder if the North Koreans may have a valid point when they complain that U.S.-ROK joint military exercises are unnecessarily provocative.  If the goal is to engage in constructive diplomacy, wouldn't it be a good first step for…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz With Koreans returning from the Lunar New Year holidays, another opportunity to return to a better state of inter-Korean affairs passed as well. This time last year, the two Koreas had just concluded a rare family visit that included around 100 elderly South Koreans. This year, no such luck would be forthcoming.…

By Troy Stangarone Three months after announcing that they had reached a preliminary agreement, South Korea and China formally announced the conclusion of their free trade agreement (FTA) talks. The additional time allowed the two governments to finalize additional details to strengthen the agreement such as a standstill provision to preclude either country from increasing…