Asia

They Did What?! On the morning of May 25, after giving the U.S. government one hour’s notice, North Korea detonated a nuclear device underground at the same northeast site of…

It seems that Kim Jong-il’s health, perhaps North Korea’s most closely guarded secret, is on everyone’s minds these days. Rumors of Kim’s ailments are growing in their level of seriousness,…

As it focused on rapid industrialization and accelerated economic growth, Korea had little leisure to worry about environmentally sustainable growth, with severe consequences: Korea is one of the top ten…

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s choice of Asia as the destination for her inaugural tour gave recognition to the significance of U.S. alliances and strategic interests in the region. From…

    In the mid-1990s, North Korea experienced a famine that by some estimates wiped out 10 percent of the population. Though many at the time thought the regime would…

      Over the last decade, China has become an increasingly important country for South Korea has it has emerged as Seoul’s largest trading partner and a leading player…

    On April 8, North Korea withdrew all of its workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, temporarily placing on hold the last form of cooperation between North and South…

South Korea’s nuclear energy industry has for decades been facilitated through close cooperation with counterparts in the United States under what is known as a “123 Agreement”.  Today South Korea’s…

By Anthony Kim With global economic recovery far from secure, many economies are at a critical juncture, and governments face decisive policy choices. Political and economic developments since the economic and financial turmoil in late 2008 have inspired a fundamental rethinking of the social contract between citizens and governments in many parts of the world.…

By Chad 0Carroll Rewind to April 1995, just one year after the death of Kim Il Sung, a nuclear crisis that nearly brought about war, and a time of biting economic hardship.  After such a long period of mourning, probably the last thing you would have expected to see taking place would be an international…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz Last month South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) commissioner Noh Dae-lae stated that DAPA had exceeded its defense exports goals last year and was now attempting to sell over $3 billion defense exports in 2012.  South Korea might have hit that $3 billion mark last year if it won a contract…

By Chad 0Carroll Kim Jong-nam made headlines last week with reports suggesting he was not comfortable with the third generation succession to his brother, Kim Jong-un.  It wasn’t the first time Kim Jong-nam’s name made the news, with previous reports showing his desire for reform, his unhappiness with DPRK military first policy, and even his…