Asia

Protracted talks—the so-called six-party talks—among the United States, South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK), North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; DPRK), Russia, China, and Japan over the standoff on…

In Russia’s foreign policy, the central direction after 11 September 2001 was a close cooperative relationship with both the United States and Europe. However, President Vladimir Putin’s second term in…

The trilateral joint research on economic cooperation among China, Japan, and Korea began following the agreement among the leaders of the three countries at their historic meeting in Manila in…

In Northeast Asia, the economies of Japan, South Korea, and China have made themselves heavily dependent on each other, but there is evidence that such mutual dependence has been beneficial…

This episode, Korean Kontext speaks to Phillipe Cousteau JR, chief spokesperson for the USA Pavillion at the 2012 Yeosu Exposition.  With the overall theme of the expo named “The Living…

Our latest edition of Korean Kontext focuses on the recent death of Kim Jong-il and the prospects for North Korea under the stewardship of his son, Kim Jong-un.  In this…

Ever wondered why someone might be motivated to spend their summer vacation  in the DPRK, or interested to learn about the guides that accompany visitors during a stay in North…

In this episode, Chad 0Carroll speaks with “TK” (”The Korean”), the man behind the must-read blog, “Ask a Korean”.  TK has been running his blog for five years and it…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz Early January is usually a time of optimism as goals are set and plans are made for a new year. Regrettably, there is often little progress on those efforts just a few weeks later. For inter-Korean relations, a similar process occurs. There is hope for better relations as both leaders usually have…

By Mark Tokola, Troy Stangarone, and Nicholas Hamisevicz Last year saw a series of significant events on the Korean peninsula. On the economic front, South Korea concluded free trade agreements with Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Vietnam, and reached substantial conclusion on a deal with its largest trading partner, China. While inter-Korean relations avoided the…

By Mark Tokola On Wednesday, January 21, four Korean workers were crushed to death at the Geochung Shipbuilding Company in Busan when the operator’s cabin broke away from a 40-ton crane.  A police officer told the press, “It appears that they were trying to disconnect the cabin without proper safety equipment.”  The police will now…

By Andrew Haggard The casual observer may be perplexed by the recent headlines of supposed North Korean hackers effectively bringing Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer systems to its knees.  How does one reconcile NASA photos and satellite images showing the near-entirety of the northern part of the Korean peninsula in utter darkness with the picture of…