Asia

For Southeast Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic was not only a public health crisis. It also provided an occasion for China to deepen its engagement in the region by dint of…

COVID-19 has not gone away, and observers are now discussing possible long-term effects of the pandemic, including on geopolitics. A report by the European Parliament discussed five COVID-generated factors that…

The coronavirus pandemic that struck in late 2019 has affected the world profoundly, and Japan is no exception. But the direct impact on Japan has been relatively small considering the…

The national identity gap between China and the United States has become increasingly apparent. Under Xi Jinping, China has sought to reclaim its historical greatness and proclaimed itself to be…

When Kim Jong-il died in 2011, the world held its breath as North Korea entered uncharted waters. No other communist dictatorship in the last century – for that matter no…

On June 25, 1950, North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea and started a war that is still technically ongoing. But it was – as North Korea’s Kim…

The North Korean economy is changing – we know this because of widely reported growth of private markets since the famine of 1990s. But black markets and illicit activities are…

In May, The Korean-born Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was named The National League Pitcher of the Month. When you think of Asians and baseball, you might think first…

With the Democratic and Republican presumptive nominees now identified, here is our comprehensive list of what the two candidates have said about the Korean peninsula since the beginning of the race. Hillary Clinton June 2, 2016 – “Take the threat posed by North Korea – perhaps the most repressive regime on the planet, run by…

By William Brown China’s Customs Bureau on Tuesday released its global trade report for April that includes details of the country’s trade with North Korea[i].  Some initial impact from UNSC sanctions may be observed, although seasonal changes tend to obscure the picture.  Overall trade with North Korea was down about ten percent in April, from…

By Troy Stangarone At North Korea’s recent Party Congress, Kim Jong-un laid out a five-year plan to boost economic growth in North Korea. As part of his plan, Kim Jong-un raised the need to address North Korea’s chronic energy shortage by increasing North Korea’s energy production, including the production of nuclear power. While addressing the…

By Juni Kim Against the backdrop of South Korea’s dramatic parliamentary elections last month, female representation in South Korea’s highest legislative body took a small but positive step forward. Fifty-one women were elected to the National Assembly, which represents the largest number of female representatives in both total number and percentage (17%) in South Korean…