The Long Road Back to Hanoi for Pyongyang
North Korea and Vietnam share a complex past, but potentially a parallel future where economic reform and one-party rule coexist.
U.S.-ROK Cost-Sharing Deal Failed to Remove ‘Trump Risk’
Despite the U.S.-ROK agreement on a preliminary cost-sharing deal for U.S. troops in South Korea, its atypically short-term nature continues to raise risks
2018 in 5 Charts: The Korean Peninsula Edition
2018 has left us with some data to visualize key trends like DPRK sanctions, ROK-China relations, and North Korean cybercrimes. Top 5 Charts from KEI.
UN Sanctions Continue to Devastate North Korean Trade
Recent data on China-DPRK trade hints at intensifying pains for the North Korean economy as Pyongyang seeks sanctions relief at Summit with President Trump.
The Hidden Economic Hazard: Rent
The minimum wage increase has been much maligned, but a bigger threat to business dynamism in Korea may be the cost of renting retail space
The Sharing Economy and Korea’s Fragile Social Safety Net
Protests against Kakao Mobile reflect the precariousness of taxi drivers’ livelihood and the fragility of Korea’s social safety net
The Second Trump-Kim Summit: Look for a Process, Not a Deal
The measure of success for the second summit should be whether two leaders can agree to a process of negotiation to be conducted by officials at many levels
Attention on DPRK and China Policies that Result in Sex Trafficking
Severe punishment doled out to people caught leaving the country have pushed many North Koreans to seek avenues that leave them vulnerable to exploitation
Problems with Korea’s Defamation Law
Requirements in Korea’s defamation law for people to prove their public accusation’s “social good” have protected perpetrators.
Defining Denuclearization: The Entrance to or Exit from Nuclear Negotiations with North Korea?
The South Korean government must advance talks between Washington and Pyongyang without full clarity on North Korea’s definition of denuclearization.