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…

    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…

What Happened A July 2021 report from the Bank of Korea showed that housing prices in the country have surged by 47% since 2017. The Moon administration implemented a series of regulations over the past four years to cool the overheated housing market. The central bank chief expressed concerns that low interest rates - adopted to cope with the…

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean music studios adapted to the public health crisis by moving K-pop concerts online. Building on the initial success of these online concerts, Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM aims to deliver an even more ambitious service to a global audience and potentially break into the platform industry…

What Happened Following a highly publicized bribery conviction, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was released from prison on parole. This ruling follows the acquittal of two executives at SK Chemical and Aekyung Industrial Co despite the sale of harmful products. In addition to these companies playing an essential role in maintaining a trade surplus, many average Koreans are…

What Happened Late last month, the two Koreas restored communications lines 13 months after Pyongyang cut off all communication lines to Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-Jong warned that conducting an annual summertime U.S.-ROK joint military exercise would hamper efforts to rebuild trust between the two Koreas. Despite the warning, South Korea decided to continue the military exercise…