Foreign Relations

In the field of international security, few connections have been made between the Korean peninsula with the Middle East. Traditional regional studies literature focuses on Korean issues within the Asia…

The denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continues to be a source of considerable international concern. Yet, no coherent international framework has emerged to deal with this…

The global community has plainly noticed the critical role played by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in inducing change in North Korea’s diplomatic behavior, particularly with respect to the…

North Korea’s ballistic missile tests in July 2006 shone a spotlight on security issues in East Asia. The media paid much attention to political challenges facing the U.S.-ROK alliance. Another…

This is the third piece in a series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series and other issues of note developed in 2022. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. Yoon Suk-yeol has aimed to strengthen South Korea’s role as a “global…

This is the second piece in a series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series and other issues of note developed in 2022. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. As we enter the new year, Korea-Japan relations seemed poised for a…

Since the mid-2000s, successive U.S. and South Korean administrations have touted the transformation of the ROK-U.S. alliance. They often highlight how a once asymmetric, Cold War alliance, rooted in strong military and security ties and shared sacrifice during the Korean War, has grown to encompass shared democratic and free-market values. In effect, U.S. and ROK…

Finding accurate and current information about North Korea has always been difficult, but steps taken by Pyongyang in an effort to deal with the COVID pandemic have made the problem of getting information about the North even more difficult.  A key source of first-hand information on the ground has been supplied by refugees who have…