[KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.] KEI is pleased to hold a program titled, Recalibration in the Indo-Pacific: Perspectives from the Region. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and ongoing U.S.-China strategic competition raises critical questions for U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific...
Apr 10, 2025•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 214
[KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.] In 2024, Korean shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries both entered into Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) agreements to support U.S. naval vessels in Korean yards. That same year, Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, while HD Hyundai part...
Apr 03, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 213
[KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.] KEI is pleased to host an exclusive event titled Siloed No More: The U.S.-ROK Alliance and a Taiwan Conflict, which examines whether and how the U.S.-ROK alliance is situated to respond to a potential conflict over Taiwan. KEI Fellow and Director of Academic Affairs Dr. Clint...
Apr 03, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 212
Scott Snyder and James Kim of KEI sat down with Dina Smeltz from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs to discuss the results of KEI's 5th Annual Survey Report, and the current perceptions Americans have towards the Korean Peninsula. This is a follow-up conversation to the live event KEI hosted about the survey results. You can find that event here: https://youtube.com/live/IQdVPZOKGpo?feature=share .
Nov 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 211
[KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.] NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit was held in Washington, DC, on July 9–11, and its Indo-Pacific Partners (IP4)—Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand—attended as they did NATO’s 2022 Madrid and 2023 Vilnius summits. NATO has made clear that although it remains dedicated to th...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 210
In April 2023, the United States and South Korea marked the 70th anniversary of an alliance that has served the strategic interests of both countries. Their relationship has expanded beyond security issues to include trade, technology, and other important policy areas. However, the alliance now faces challenges from changing notions of national interests and political polarization in both countries. On January 16, 2024, KEI hosted a discussion with Scott Snyder, author of The U.S.-Korea Alliance...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 206
Building on last year’s "Rethinking Korea initiative," in 2024 KEI will continue to explore the evolution of US-Korea relations, Korea's place in the world, rapid changes in Korean society, and a fast changing geopolitical and strategic landscape. The initiative involves both retrospective inquiry as well as prospective analysis about future trends. Our guest today is intently focused on the role of armed coercion as a tool of foreign policy employed by both the United States and China and how o...
Feb 29, 2024•41 min•Ep. 209
Building on last year’s "Rethinking Korea initiative," in 2024 KEI will continue to explore the evolution of US-Korea relations, Korea's place in the world, rapid changes in Korean society, and a fast changing geopolitical and strategic landscape. The initiative involves both retrospective inquiry as well as prospective analysis about future trends. Our guest today is intently focused on the role of armed coercion as a tool of foreign policy employed by both the United States and China and how o...
Feb 22, 2024•46 min•Ep. 208
For the first time since the end of the Cold War, North Korea has embraced relations with Russia as a key component of its foreign policy and domestic development. However, Russia’s need for North Korean artillery and weapons to conduct its war in Ukraine also create a different dynamic between the two countries than during the Cold War. This new dynamic and the unknown outcome of the war in Ukraine raise questions about the long-term viability of deepening ties between North Korea and Russia, a...
Feb 15, 2024•57 min•Ep. 207
On August 17, 2023, KEI held a program on the U.S.-South Korea-North Korea Strategic Triangle in the Indo-Pacific Era. The program featured Scott Snyder’s work to help better understand: the evolution in perceptions of the three main actors in the U.S.-South Korea-North Korea triangle, including their respective approaches to one another and interactions with China; the main impacts of U.S.-China rivalry on their respective postures and priorities; and the future trajectory of both U.S.-South Ko...
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 205
On August 30, 2023, KEI hosted a discussion with Prof. Rory Medcalf on South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Middle Power Convergence with Australia. Over the past decade, the concept of the “Indo-Pacific” has replaced the late 20th century “Asia-Pacific” as a central frame of reference for strategy and external policy. Although the Indo-Pacific is often associated particularly with Japan and its influential prime minister the late Abe Shinzo, in fact, Australia was the first country to formal...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 204
Despite being industrial powerhouses, Korea and Japan are both resource-poor nations with limited domestic sources of energy. Powering their economies required both to develop supply chains for fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable energy to power their economies. However, different domestic political constraints resulted in differing approaches to achieving energy security. On September 21, 2023, KEI hosted a discussion on Korea and Japan’s efforts to achieve energy security with Dr. Seong...
Jan 25, 2024•57 min•Ep. 203
Relations between Russia and North Korea are growing closer. Pyongyang has been publically supportive of Russia’s war in Ukraine and is reported to have supplied Moscow with millions of artillery shells. Kim Jong-un met with Vladimir Putin at Vostochny Cosmodrome and discussed deepening their military relationship and providing Russia with additional military supplies. These deepening ties also raise a series of questions related to geostrategic competition in Northeast Asia, the war in Ukraine,...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 202
KEI is pleased to hold a program on Economic Security and U.S.-China Competition: The View From North Korea. One country is conspicuously missing from existing discussions about the dilemmas and opportunities that U.S.-China strategic competition poses to various stakeholders in matters related to global economic security: North Korea. North Korea is an interesting piece of the puzzle because it is certainly not a key player in the regional or global economy. Quite unlike its neighboring states,...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 201
Seoul has gradually adopted a more outspoken position regarding the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and framed it in increasingly expansive terms—as a regional and global issue yet also directly linked to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. Nevertheless, the U.S.-ROK alliance faces a gap between such rhetoric and its political, military, and operational preparedness to navigate an actual conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan and the attendan...
Jan 05, 2024•56 min•Ep. 200
From K-pop to K-drama and food, Korean culture has taken the globe by storm. Korean artists are topping the Billboard charts, Korean films are winning Oscars, and Korean kimbap at Trader Joe’s went viral online. Cultural interest is also behind the growth of students learning Korean in the United States when interest in foreign languages is going down in general. What drives this interest and resonates with people across the globe? What role does Korean popular culture play as a form of soft pow...
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 199
Countries with advanced semiconductor industries are caught in the middle of growing U.S.-China competition in technology focused on advanced computing. While some countries with key technology companies in the toolmaking sector have been drawn into the competition previously, South Korea and its national champions, Samsung and SK Hynix, have arguably incurred some of the most significant pressure. These firms have billions of dollars of sunk investment in China-based facilities and the future o...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 198
The United States and the Republic of Korea have been celebrating the 70th anniversary of the alliance and the 120th anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States throughout 2023. Along with our military and economic partnership, people-to-people ties have served as a central pillar of our multifaceted relationship. Both those who have practiced diplomacy and ordinary people through their personal and professional connections have contributed to the close and ever deepening relationship...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 197
The recent war in Ukraine, Russia’s overtures towards North Korea, and North Korea’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic all signal a sea-change for the DPRK’s place in the international system. KEI Economic Policy Analyst Tom Ramage sat down with SOAS University of London professor and North Korea expert Hazel Smith to discuss the recent Putin-Kim summit, alleged North Korean munitions to Russia, the effect of sanctions on North Korean denuclearization, and the priorities they will all take wi...
Dec 07, 2023•46 min•Ep. 196
In 2023, KEI has set out on its "Rethinking Korea initiative," which explores the evolution of U.S.-Korea relations, Korea's place in the world, and rapid changes in Korean society itself. The initiative involves both retrospective inquiry as well as prospective analysis about future trends. Today, we will be discussing the growing popularity of K-pop and K-culture within the United States. KEI’s Director of Communications, Sang Kim, and Operations Manager, Mai Anna Pressley, attended KCON LA in...
Oct 26, 2023•37 min•Ep. 195
