Asia

In April 2013 North Korea was determined to show the world that it was prepared to stop at nothing in order to be accepted as a nuclear power. Instead of…

2012 was a year of leadership transition in China and a presidential election in the United States. At the 18th Congress of China’s Communist Party in November, Hu Jintao passed…

When in November 2012 the CCP unveiled its new Political Standing Committee, with Xi Jinping at its head, Russian Prime Minister and the Chairman of the United Russia Party Dmitrii…

The relationship between South Korea and Japan resembles a seesaw or a pendulum. Ups and downs are normal. The Lee Myong-bak administration is no exception, although many expected a different…

Although it is happening more rapidly in South Korea, an aging society is a common feature in post-industrial societies around the world. With the number of retirees growing and the…

In March, Seoul suffered from the worst air pollution on record. Enough that the South Korean government has officially designated the problem as a "social disaster." But what is causing…

Over the past few years, Korea and Koreans have experienced incredible political, social, and diplomatic shifts. It is hard keeping up with all these new developments as a Korea Watcher,…

Even before the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, foreign policy practitioners and observers were talking about the difficulties of sequencing international sanctions relief for North Korea…

By Duyeon Kim The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Korea could have been a watershed moment for nuclear security. The 58 heads of state and world leaders were expected to implement nuclear security measures conceptualized by the Obama administration’s first Summit in Washington two years ago, and pivot toward a harmonized and coherent roadmap.…

By Chad 0'Carroll Last week The Daily NK, an online newspaper dedicated to covering North Korea from a human rights perspective, suffered a malware attack.  It was by no means the first malware infection of the site (936 pages infected in the last 90 days alone, according to Google), but comes following a spate of…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz On the day before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak hosted numerous leaders and heads-of-state for the Nuclear Security Summit, he met bilaterally with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India to discuss enhancing the two countries strategic partnership. Looking to build on the intensity and frequency of the high-level meetings that followed President…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz Next week, President Lee Myung-bak and South Korea will host numerous leaders and heads-of-state from around the world for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit. On the sidelines of the summit, President Lee will host approximately 27 bilateral meetings with various counterparts, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. After a year dedicated…