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…

Hello again after the holiday break! Just before the holidays I spoke with Hawon Lee, who was just wrapping up his nearly four years as Washington D.C. Bureau Chief of…

In this episode we speak with Mr. Ken E. Gause, currently a senior research analyst with the International Affairs Group and Iranian Studies Program at CNA Strategic Studies in Alexandria,…

In this episode, we are joined by Balbina Hwang, currently a visiting professor at Georgetown University and the National Defense University here in D.C. Ms. Hwang is here to speak…

This episode takes us directly into the office of Ambassador Han Duk-Soo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States, who shares his thoughts on the much-anticipated G-20…

What Happened On April 20th, the National Assembly ratified three of the remaining four International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions that South Korea has not yet implemented. Moves to ratify the conventions were proposed in 2019, but progress was not made, as many conservative politicians and businesses opposed the changes. Despite ratifying these conventions, South Korea has not adopted the provision on…

What Happened On April 19, the South Korean government launched a committee to monitor real estate issues and create new policy suggestions. The creation of the committee follows the ruling party’s defeat in the Seoul and Busan mayoral elections, which many partially attribute to the Moon administration’s inability to control property prices. Rising real estate prices are contributing to increased…

Consequent on the UN sanctions that severely restricted essential exports for agriculture to North Korea, starvation conditions have re-emerged for the first time since the famine years of the 1990s. Absent capital and technology, the government relies almost completely on the intensified exploitation of the labor force, much of this carried out via the mechanisms…

What Happened On April 12, President Biden met with 19 CEOs to discuss the ongoing semiconductor shortage and to build support for technology as a key component of the infrastructure. The White House promised a USD 50 billion investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, seeking cooperation from global partners. During a similar summit in March, Biden discussed putting technology, such as semiconductors…