Asia

What impact will a rising China have on the North Pacific security environment? A close examination of recent developments in Beijing’s approach to dealing with North Korea yields insights into…

The last two years have seen a series of changes affecting regionalism in North- east Asia. One category of changes has been the crises in the areas of economy and…

Two years and nine months have passed since Korea and the United States put their signatures on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). Nei- ther Korea nor the United…

The relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea is unique; the challenges it faces are not. Next-generation views of the ties between Seoul and Washington do not…

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…

The potential growth rate – the level of output that an economy can produce at a constant inflation rate – in Korea has declined steadily from 5.0% during 1997-2006 to 2.7% during 2017-20, according to the OECD (Figure 1). The OECD projects that it will slow further to 2.2% from 2021-23. The Bank of Korea…

On March 9, South Korean voters will select their next president for a five-year term.  The South Korean constitution limits presidents to a single term, so there is no incumbent in the race. The presidential campaign is a contest between Lee Jae-myung, candidate of the progressive Democratic Party of current president Moon Jae-in, and Yoon…

What Happened: In January 2022, Indonesia announced a ban on coal exports. Indonesian coal accounts for 20% of Seoul’s total coal imports. In response, the South Korean government urged the Indonesian government to remove the ban on coal exports. Despite these actions, the South Korean government officially stated that Indonesia’s ban on coal exports would…

What Happened: The ruling party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung announced his plan to raise income per capita to USD 50,000, elevate the country’s hard power, and reach KOSPI stock index of 5,000. Polling two days after this speech showed that Lee led the race with 36 percent against his main opponent’s 26 percent. According to…