Asia

This chapter examines the nature and motivations of North Korea’s sharp power toward South Korea. Unlike China or Russia, to secure long-term survival, North Korea ultimately needs cooperation from the…

Trade ties between the United States and many East Asian countries have faced a high degree of uncertainty since Donald Trump took office in early 2017. The world is now…

Since entering office in 2017, President Trump has upended longstanding tenets of U.S. trade policy and launched the most aggressive set of new U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions since at…

The U.S.-South Korea relationship has traditionally been characterized as a security alliance, meeting the interests of both countries for a stable Korean Peninsula. Economically, Korea was a major recipient of…

Not everyone in Korea or foreigners abroad want to hear about national advertising initiatives that focus on mainstream issues like K-Pop, Hallyu or ancient Korean Kimchi culture. Instead, many want…

On January 11, 2013, the Korea Economic Institute of America recently led Washington DC’s celebration of Korean American Day by hosting a luncheon event to honor two Korean Americans for…

With North Korea announcing to the world that it will be attempting to launch a second satellite for 2012, many analysts have been speculating as to why Pyongyang is so…

In this episode we spoke to The Economist’s South Korea correspondent, Daniel Tudor. Having been based in Korea for over a decade, Tudor has just finished writing one of the…

By Chad 0'Carroll Hundreds of thousands of mourning North Koreans lined the bitterly cold streets of Pyongyang today to say goodbye to their leader, Kim Jong-il.  How real the tears were is impossible to say, but the images were nonetheless extremely reminiscent of what was seen at Kim Il Sung’s funeral  – aside from the…

By Michael J. Mazarr The most significant thing about the dramatic change in North Korea is how little has changed. Kim Jong-il has died, inaugurating a period of complex maneuvering and potential instability within the North’s ruling clique.  The succession to his son Kim Jong-un will be perilous:  The regime’s legitimacy is grounded in personalities,…

By Ken Gause The death of Kim Chong-il does not only mean a transition in leadership as can be seen with the apparent coronation of Kim Chong-un as the successor. It also likely means a change in the leadership structure, which will potentially have a dramatic impact on how Pyongyang makes decisions and how those…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz The death of Kim Jong Il has put the focus and pressure on Kim Jong-un and the rest of the North Korean leadership elite. The spotlight will be even more intense as previously scheduled events in North Korea approach in the next few months. These moments will provide North Korea with an…