Asia

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…

The Trump administration has had no qualms about going against conventional U.S. policy norms and long-established rules of engagement. Thinking outside of the box has not been without its merits;…

In this episode of Korean Kontext, I have the opportunity to speak with Richard V. Allen, who, in the weeks preceding his official instatement as National Security Advisor to President-elect…

In this episode we hear from author Mike Kim, who speaks with Korean Kontext about his experiences living and working with North Korean refugees on the China-North Korea border. Mike…

We bring the Korean Kontext studio to the U.S. Department of State to speak with Kathleen Stephens, current U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. Ambassador Stephens shares with us her personal…

In this episode we speak with Ambassador John Everard, who served as Ambassador of Great Britain to North Korea from 2006-2008. Ambassador Everard experienced firsthand life as one of only…

At the end of May, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted a high-level summit with representatives from Japan and China. It was the first time Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio traveled to South Korea this year and was also the first visit to South Korea by Chinese Premier Li Qiang since his appointment in…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a very short list of countries on his list of available international travel destinations these days. He made a wise choice to travel to Pyongyang, where he could be feted as a fellow dictator and share relief from sanctions-imposed isolation. However, Putin’s decision to sign a comprehensive mutual defense pact…

MSCI, a New York-based international ratings provider, is soon to release its annual Market Classification Review. The findings will determine what next steps Korea needs to focus on to move from the index of emerging markets to that of a developed one. Once the latter occurs, it would allow Korea to be listed alongside other…

During the week from May 28 to June 2, North Korea released over 1,000 large balloons across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) into South Korea. The balloons carried payloads of manure, cigarette butts, used batteries, cloth and plastic fragments, and lots of scrap paper (including used toilet paper). One report said that even dirty diapers were…