In normal economies, currencies weaken in times of difficulty, but something counter-intuitive happens in North Korea. Eun-lee Joung, a research fellow at Korea Institute for National Unification claims that the value of the North Korean won appreciated, and the market prices were remarkably stable although North Korea’s economy suffered its bigg...

Won Gon Park, a professor at Ewha Woman’s University, appreciates that the Yoon government’s “Audacious Initiative” reaffirms the goals and methods of denuclearization. However, Dr. Park points out that Pyongyang refuses to accept President Yoon’s proposal to receive economic incentives in return for denuclearization, as DPRK has recently...

Li Nan, a Senior Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of American Studies, criticizes the Biden administration’s North Korea policy as undermining the Korean Peninsula’s denuclearization process. Dr. Nan indicates that United States’ “alliance-first approach” puts North Korea on the opposite side of the US a...

Dong Ryul Lee, Professor at the Department of Chinese Studies at Dongduk Women’s University and the Chair of the China Research Center at EAI, writes that China’s policies toward North Korea and its nuclear program has been consistent for the past 30 years, has taken caution not to pressure North Korea to the extent that would escalate instabil...

In this Commentary, Ryo Sahashi, Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, discusses North Korea’s continued military armament and nuclear proliferation and stresses the importance of ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation in countering this threat. Specifically, Dr. Sahashi notes that the international community needs to maintain its goal of the compl...

In this Commentary, Juhyun Um, Secretary General at Medical Aid for Children, provides an overview of international and South Korean aid initiatives in North Korea and examines North Korea’s current perspective on humanitarian assistance. The author analyzes that Pyongyang’s official refusal of humanitarian assistance in 2014 is a multidimensio...

In this Commentary, Yang Gyu Kim, Principal Researcher at the East Asia Institute (EAI), explains the objectives behind the U.S.’ invitation of its key allies the Indo-Pacific to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit. He posits that the U.S. aims to establish a highly institutionalized cooperative mechanism that combines the capaci...

Young-Ho Park, Director at the Korea Peace Foundation and an Invitation Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, evaluates the May 2022 ROK-U.S. Summit and provides prospects for the Yoon administration’s North Korea policy. Dr. Park highlights that the summit symbolizes the progression of the ROK-U.S. into a comprehensive...

In this commentary, Bong Sup Shin, Visiting Professor at Kwangwoon University and former Consul General of the Korean Consulate in Shenyang, China, writes on the current status of DPRK-China relations and its implications for the Yoon administration. Dr. Shin argues that Sino-North Korean relations revolve around the balance of respective national ...

The unexpected spread of COVID-19 in North Korea has added another layer of uncertainty on the Korean Peninsula. In this commentary, Philo Kim, Associate Professor at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS) at Seoul National University, analyzes the domestic and external implications of North Korea’s recent surge in COVID-19 cases....