Foreign Relations

Eyes and ears were on Beijing earlier this month, as the chief negotiators from China, North Korea, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the United States met in Beijing for a…

Korea has once again been threatened by financial contagion that started in another country. In 1997, it began with Thai baht; this time, the trouble started on Wall Street. Since…

Black September, Meltdown Monday, America’s Financial 9/11, Financial Tsunami, Perfect Storm, worse financial crisis since the Great Depression 1929… Whatever the term used, recent events on Wall Street will certainly…

Adhering to the action-for-action framework of the February 13, 2007 agreement, North Korea and the United States traded symbolic actions last week that grabbed the headlines—explosive video footage of North…

Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been one of the defining geopolitical moments of the modern era—and while not as headline grabbing as its ramifications for Europe and the so-called ‘BRICS’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) agenda, its impact on the Korean Peninsula has been profound. Vladimir Putin’s war has significantly impacted…

With a possible second Trump Administration less than a year away, it is worth reviewing the roots of Donald Trump’s foreign policy and seeing what lessons might be learned from his Presidency.  President Trump’s approach to foreign affairs was neither unprecedented nor incomprehensible.  Its roots are in American history, and its principles are discernible.  The…

Time is running out regarding threats to the world’s undersea cables: The world needs to start acting, rather than just discussing the problem, since more attacks on this critical infrastructure are happening in reality. South Korea is well-positioned to become a leader in creating a new regime that regulates the undersea cable industry. As one…

South Korea established full diplomatic relations with Cuba on February 15, 2024, when the ambassadors of the two countries to the United Nations in New York City exchanged diplomatic notes formally establishing diplomatic ties.  The move was unexpected since there had been no recent public reports that the two countries were engaged in discussions regarding…