Foreign Relations

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…

Korea and Japan are two key allies of the United States in East Asia. These two countries are “window models” of postwar democratization and economic advancement in a free world.…

The security alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) is the foundation for the architecture of strategic stability in Northeast Asia that has endured for more…

The Cold War in Northeast Asia became irreversible with the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950. Over the decades partial steps were taken to end it: rapprochement…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz & Phil Eskeland With the expectation of the confirmation of Mark Lippert to be the United States’ next Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (South Korea), he will face a series of challenges and opportunities in his new role. In his prepared testimony and at his nomination hearing, Mr. Lippert rightly discussed…

This is the first in a 2 part series looking at the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2014 (H.R. 1771). Second piece in the series is available here. By Bruce Klingner Former Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell recently observed that North Korea was not the most heavily sanctioned country in the world as…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz Recently, there was a big setback in Korea-India relations. The deal that was made back in 2011 for India to purchase eight minesweepers from South Korea is currently on hold and may soon be scuttled. It was announced that India’s Ministry of Defense launched an inquiry into the claim that the Kangnam…

By Phil Eskeland As President Barack Obama arrives in Asia, some critics of free trade use out-of-date or incomplete trade statistics on the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to justify opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). First, it is premature to offer a definitive opinion on the success or failure of any trade…