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North Korea

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December 10, 2020 Open Forum
Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 6

The late fall of 2020 saw attention turn to Joe Biden, including his nominees for policy posts in national security and their thinking on the Indo-Pacific region. He […]

Editorial Staff

BRI, free and open Indo-Pacific, Korean War, SCO, strategic patience, the Quad, US-China rivalry
September 2, 2020 Country Reports · South Korea
Country Report: South Korea (September 2020)

In the summer of 2020 foreign policy was largely on hold. The pandemic effect, the wait for US elections, and the relative caution shown by North Korea unwilling […]

Sanghwa Hong

OPCON transfer, Paik Sun-yup, Special Measures Agreement, US-China rivalry, Yang Jiechi
August 31, 2020 National Commentaries
A South Korean Perspective

South Korea places human rights as one of its main policy principles and is a member of seven international treaties. In recent months, the Moon administration has faced […]

Yumi Ko

byungjin policy, Hong Kong, Moon Jae-in, Sunshine Policy, US-China rivalry, Uyghur, Xinjiang
June 26, 2020 Open Forum
Three Spikes and You Are Out? China-DPRK Relations after the Cold War and the US

Exchanges of visits between Chinese and DPRK leaders and high-level delegations have been relatively rare since the end of the Cold War. However, meetings between leaders saw three […]

Jiang Tianjiao

China-DPRK relations, China-US relations, COVID-19, Denuclearization, Hanoi summit, Six-Party Talks
May 25, 2020 Country Reports
Country Report: Russia (May 2020)

One message stood apart in Russian coverage of international relations in the Indo-Pacific in the early spring of 2020: what is the impact of the pandemic on China […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative, Cold War, COVID-19, Eurasian Economic Union, Wolf Warrior Diplomacy
May 9, 2020 Open Forum
Kim Jong-un’s Recent Absence: A Viewpoint from North Korean Media Analysis

“CONFIDENTIAL AND URGENT STOP LORD COPPER HIMSELF GRAVELY DISSATISFIED STOP LORD COPPER PERSONALLY REQUIRES VICTORIES STOP ON RECEIPT OF THIS CABLE VICTORY STOP CONTINUE CABLING VICTORIES UNTIL FURTHER […]

Rachel Minyoung Lee

Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong, media analysis
April 22, 2020 Country Reports
Country Report: China (April 2020)

As 2020 began, Chinese authors were busy not only summing up the far-reaching results of 2019 but also putting them in broad analytical perspective. China’s other bilateral relations […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)

"Belt and Road" Initiative, Cold War, community of common destiny, COVID-19, Six-Party Talks, Xi Jinping
March 23, 2020 Country Reports
Country Report: South Korea (March 2020)

In February 2020, the South Korean government tackled the coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19. Following the diagnosis of “patient 31” in Daegu, the virus spread rapidly, and […]

Yumi Ko

Coronavirus, COVID-19, Korea-phobia, Special Measures Agreement, THAAD, Three nos
March 2, 2020 Open Forum
Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 1

The coronavirus originating in Wuhan cast a dark shadow on efforts to look ahead in East Asia. It kept China at the center of attention, while only reinforcing […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative, Coronavirus, free and open Indo-Pacific, GSOMIA, THAAD, Tokyo Olympics
February 6, 2020 Country Reports
Country Report: Japan (February 2020)

Ahead of Xi Jinping’s anticipated visit in spring, one might have expected Japan to be in an upbeat mood toward China, as was the case in advance of […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative, "Hate Korea”, China-Japan-ROK summit, free and open Indo-Pacific, GSOMIA, RCEP, Tsai Ing-wen