Asia

As the U.S. economic crisis was just getting off the ground, many analysts claimed Asia would be relatively immune to the impact because its economies had “decoupled” from the United…

Given the growing importance of East Asia to global stability and prosperity, sustaining the five U.S. treaty alliances in the region—Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines—will…

On 30 June 2007, U.S. and South Korean trade officials signed the U.S.- Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The two countries reached the agreement after 10 months of very…

On 1 April 2007 Korea and the United States finally completed their year-long negotiations to conclude the Korea- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), which was then signed by the…

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…

This is the second piece in a series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series and other issues of note developed in 2022. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. As we enter the new year, Korea-Japan relations seemed poised for a…

This is the first piece in a series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series and other issues of note developed in 2022. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. Even before the pandemic little information was provided by the North Korean…

Since the mid-2000s, successive U.S. and South Korean administrations have touted the transformation of the ROK-U.S. alliance. They often highlight how a once asymmetric, Cold War alliance, rooted in strong military and security ties and shared sacrifice during the Korean War, has grown to encompass shared democratic and free-market values. In effect, U.S. and ROK…

Of the approximately 70 missiles tested by Pyongyang this year, Chairman Kim Jong Un celebrated the November 18 test of the Hwasong 17 intercontinental ballistic missile as the "completion of the world’s strongest strategic weapon." In remarks carried by the Rodong Sinmun on November 27, he also said that the test underlined "our daily-growing military…