Politics

A common problem facing students of the economy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the shortage of available statistics. It is extremely challenging to procure DPRK data,…

Rocky roads conjure images of pitfalls and jarring bumps on a tortuous journey toward some desired destination, without assurance that some calamity will not bar the way to the hoped-for…

Between winning the election in December 2007 and taking office in February 2008, Lee Myungbak and his administration sketched out a massive reform program that would potentially affect every aspect…

North Korea’s economy has been on the verge of collapse since the beginning of the second nuclear crisis in 2002 because of the international community’s growing sanctions and pressure. The…

By Phil Eskeland This was a very interesting week in Washington – three seminal events happened (no, the visit of Prince Harry doesn’t count) that were linked in some fashion to the surprise resignation of House Speaker John Boehner announced last month. First, on October 26th, the House of Representatives reauthorized a little known agency…

By Jenna Gibson Earlier this month, three U.S. senators took on North Korea (DPRK) by introducing a broad sanctions bill aimed at addressing concerns about cyberwarfare and the North’s continued nuclear ambitions. Known as the North Korean Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act (S. 2144), this bill would codify the sanctions put in place by presidential…

With Germany marking the 25th anniversary of unification this is the second part of a five part series looking at insights from the German unification experience for the Korean peninsula. Part I on the challenges of integration can be found here. Part III on integrating the bureaucracy and the military can be found here. Part IV on the social challenges of…

By Troy Stangarone In the aftermath of the recent tensions on the Korean peninsula some commentators have contended that South Korea is spinning the idea that North Korea apologized for maiming two South Korea soldiers when it didn’t directly claim responsibility for the act but merely expressed regret. An article in The Diplomat on this…