2004 Posts located
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (henceforth North Korea) certainly seems to like being different from other countries. Whereas governments of virtually all the world’s countries regularly publish data on…
Recent developments on the Korean peninsula are raising expectations that the DPRK may finally be ready for a new era of political rapprochement and economic opening. This possibility is reflected…
The United States and Korea finished the eighth round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in mid-March 2007, and the agreement is likely to be concluded eventually.1…
The U.S.-ROK bilateral economic relationship entered a new era 1 April 2007 when President George W. Bush notified the U.S. Congress of his intent to enter into a free trade…
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…
Yoon Suk-yeol emerged victorious in the Korean presidential elections held in March. Among his campaign promises was to fix bilateral relations with Japan. Tokyo seems to be interested in the same, with government officials warmly welcoming a visiting delegation sent by the recently elected president. "We have no time to spare in improving Japan-South Korea…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Council have begun the process of selecting a new Special Rapporteur to focus on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana has held the mandate for DPRK human rights for the…
Upon his election, president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to turn South Korea into a leading digital economy befitting the era of Digital Earth. In addition to the physical relocation of the presidential office from the Blue House to the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, the upcoming Yoon administration is looking to transition into a “digital…
The widely publicized shortage of semiconductor chips – a remnant of the pandemic supply chain disruptions – faces new challenges from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Eastern Europe is the largest supplier of industrial, rare gasses that are crucial to semiconductor production in South Korea. Conflict-caused supply disruptions open the door for other nations to fill…