Asia

Today’s global economy is highly interconnected and interdependent. Supply chains across the world are finely tuned to deliver parts just when they are needed, so that companies and industries do…

Japan led, and was transformed, by the global supply chain revolution. Facing growing protectionism in industrialized markets and reeling from sharp yen appreciation in the aftermath of the 1985 Plaza…

The U.S.-China trade war and the pandemic have had a profound impact on cross-border supply chains. In the past few years of U.S.-China tensions, China has been accused of engaging…

China is India’s largest source of imports, nearly 15 percent of which are sourced from China. Many of India’s major imports—electrical machinery, electronic and semiconductor devices, fertilizers, antibiotics, iron and…

Korean Kontext recently spoke to Gordon Flake of the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Foundation for a conversation about Korea’s rising prominence as a “middle power”.  Focussing on South Korea’s rapidly…

62 years ago on this day of June 25, hostilities broke out on the Korean peninsula. It was a conflict that ended only due to what everybody thought would be…

Korean Kontext caught up with Man Asian literary prize winner Shin Kyung-sook for a chat about her latest novel, “Please Look After Mom”.  Shin became the first woman and South…

In this special episode, Korean Kontext had the opportunity to speak to South Korean Minister for Trade, Bark Taeho, during his latest visit to Washington DC. KEI’s Vice President, Dr.…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a historic visit to Burma last week to assess some of the reforms undertaken by the regime.  During her trip, she rightfully insisted that one of the changes the Burmese government must enact is to end its illicit activities with North Korea.  Korea watchers need…

By Troy Stangarone Years ago, The Economist developed the Big Mac Index to track how much a MacDonald’s Big Mac cost in countries around the world. The idea was to provide an understandable measure for purchasing power parity across countries since the Big Mac is a basic commodity that has spread across the world. Of…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz A new report with satellite images shows North Korea’s progress constructing a new light water reactor at Yongbyon. The North Koreans revealed the facility to Ambassador Jack Pritchard, KEI’s President, and in subsequent weeks, Dr. Siegfried Hecker of Stanford University in November 2010. Dr. Hecker in his trip report expressed his surprise…

By Troy Stangarone Despite the financial crisis of 2008, the global downturn that followed in 2009, and a year of tension between North and South Korea, the Kaesong Industrial Complex has been remarkably resilient. New numbers from the Ministry of Unification show that production at the complex was up 38 percent in September from a…