South Korea is a treaty ally with the United States that has to deal daily with the threat from North Korea. The United States has a mutually beneficial pending FTA agreement with South Korea.
How did South Korea rank in the Index of Economic Freedom? Click here to find out. Read More.
The U.S.-South Korea security alliance must evolve to respond to a changing threat environment, an evolving U.S. military strategy, and South Korea’s desire to assume more responsibility for its security. Read More.
North Korea defied international pressure and launched its Unha-3 missile on April 12. U.S. and South Korean officials indicate that the missile failed several minutes after launch. Although Pyongyang had characterized the launch as that of a peaceful civilian satellite, it is a blatant violation of existing U.N. Security Council…
Abstract: An inexperienced young man—Kim Jong-un—is, at least for the moment, in control of North Korea, the world’s most volatile nuclear power. While this scenario might sound like the plot line of a Hollywood blockbuster, for America and…
As President Obama travels to South Korea for next week’s nuclear summit, North Korea’s threat to launch a missile in mid-April will overshadow the gathering of world leaders. The United States and South Korea should work the room to prepare a strong international response to yet another North Korean violation…
President Obama’s new defense strategy is long on rhetoric but bereft of details on how it will actually be implemented. The President boldly promised to maintain or augment U.S. military capabilities against a spectrum of global threats, but planned draconian defense cuts of $1 trillion would undermine the U.S.’s ability…
North Korea is developing a road-mobile ICBM, expanding the future threat to the United States beyond the Taepo Dong 2 long-range missile that would be launched from fixed sites. U.S. intelligence information disclosed to Congress last month reportedly identified recent North Korean progress on the mobile missile system, though no…
Abstract: The failure of the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (“Super Committee”) to come to agreement on reducing the federal deficit raises the real prospect of a total of $1 trillion in …
My name is Bruce Klingner. I am Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation. It has been said that the…
Abstract: South Korea has initiated a series of extraordinary defense reforms. These reforms are commendable and will redress many of South Korea’s security shortcomings. Seoul will be hampered in these efforts, however, by demographic and fiscal constraints. Yet such barriers must be overcome; an…
After four long years and an estimated $40 billion in lost U.S. exports, the Korea–U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) has finally been submitted to Congress. Although signed in 2007, the FTA languished as U.S. legislators demanded additional conditions on behalf of the auto and beef sectors and organized labor.…
Surprise meetings between North and South Korean nuclear negotiators this weekend and Washington’s subsequent invitation to Pyongyang for bilateral talks in New York are significant for their occurrence. However, it is premature to see them as a breakthrough toward achieving North Korean denuclearization. In fact, they are not even negotiations…
The global financial crisis has had a major impact on perceptions of American power and its relationships in Asia. Many of the perceptions are not founded on facts. Among the facts often overlooked: American companies invest far more abroad than does…
Of all the foreign policy challenges that Barack Obama inherited from George W. Bush, North Korea may prove the most intractable. Perceptions held by many South Koreans -- and many in American academic circles -- that President Obama would take a dramatically different approach toward Pyongyang, including an embrace of…
After three years of needless delay, the South Korea–U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) may finally be submitted for legislative approval. On December 3, U.S. and South Korean negotiators produced a supplementary agreement that rewarded narrow U.S. special interests but still maintains the significant benefits of the original accord. While…
“Clean energy” has become a political and economic buzzword for the broad policy debate on how to deal with energy challenges and achieve green growth in the future. Indeed, the global clean energy industry presents a critical market opportunity for the United States, one that could lead to dynamic exports…
Debates about trade and tariffs are a recurring element in U.S. history, and each time they have been resolved in favor of more freedom, Americans have enjoyed long periods of greater prosperity. Legislators should keep this history in mind and advance pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea…
Toyota recently announced it will begin exporting U.S.-built Camry cars and Sienna minivans to South Korea from plants...…
Real life can never give social scientists the kind of laboratory-quality tests that natural scientists can create, but...…
In this week's Heritage in Focus, expert Bruce Klingner discusses all the latest surrounding North Korea and the death...…
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) visited Heritage this week to give the annual B.C. Lee lecture, focusing on the...…
Now that Congress has passed free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea, it's a good time to ask why...…
Free trade agreements (FTAs) have economically benefited nations the world over since their inception. Poverty rates in...…
Congress keeps threatening to shut down over the budget, but there is at least one thing the two houses can agree on....…
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) visited Heritage earlier this week for The Bloggers Briefing and stuck around to chat in our...…
“We’re cutting our own throats here, I think,” Kim Murray, from the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, recently remarked...…
What does it take to keep a small ruling elite in power, living a life of luxury, all while blackmailing the world into...…
Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia