Foreign Relations

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…

For Korea watchers—and particularly for those of us who worked closely on events associated with President Lee’s visit to Washington—April was a very rewarding month. After multiple protocol meetings, site…

On September 20, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) released its report on the KORUS FTA. The ITC study is a required analysis under Trade Promotion Authority that explores the…

KEI recently completed its sixteenth annual Ambassadors’ Dialogue program (previously called the Korea Caravan), featuring Lee Tae-sik, the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to the United States, and Alexander Vershbow, United…

By Thomas C. Hubbard Nearly five years ago, when Lee Myung-bak had just been elected President of Korea, I participated in a study group sponsored by Stanford University and The Korea Society aimed at drawing up a blueprint for a “New Beginning” in U.S.-Korea relations. The goal was to help the new administrations coming into…

By Nick Miller Main Actors within North Korea Decision Making North Korea’s political structure is a set of institutions built to sustain the Kim family. The Korean Worker’s Party (WKP) and other state agencies were designed by Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il to be used to play rivals off one another and assist him in…

By Seongjin James Ahn Last week, state-owned Korea Gas Co. (KOGAS) beat out eight other bidders to secure a new $127 million pipeline deal in Iraq.  The contract, to be signed later this month, heralds yet another lucrative investment project for South Korea which, in recent years, has been very assertive in winning investment contracts…

By Jessica Choi A few days ago, I went to my friend’s favorite local Japanese sushi bar for the first time, and I noticed that there was bulgogi (Korean beef bbq) on the menu.  My interest was piqued, so I decided to try speaking Korean to the waitress.  Lo and behold, it turns out that…