Dr. Nam-Kook Kim, Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University and Advisory Committee Member of CUKPE Overshadowed by the impact of the U.S.-Iran war on the global economy, the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022 and is now entering its fifth year, is becoming a forgotten conflict. Meanwhile, the nature of the war has intensified; Ukraine is using drones to concentrate attacks on energy facilities in mainland Ru

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE Recently, the biggest focus of attention in the international financial market has been interest rates. This is because long-term interest rates in developed countries such as the United States, Japan, and Europe are rising rapidly. Typically, long-term rates rise when demand for funds increases due to expectations of economic improvement, when infl

Dr. Kiho Han, Director (Associate Professor) of the Research Laboratory at the Ajou University Institute for Unification Studies and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE President Trump, who stormed out of the Metropol Hanoi Hotel on February 28, 2019, is once again reaching out to Chairman Kim Jong Un. On August 19, he announced at the White House that he would “meet Chairman Kim Jong Un later this year,” and on the 17th, he stated that he had received a “very positive” respo

Dr. Inyeop Lee, our Center's Affiliated Research Fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Tech University, has recently published a new journal article on “Demystifying North Korea by Teaching It in a Comparative Perspective”, ASIANetwork Exchange A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts 30(1), 2026.

Dr. Inyeop Lee, our Center's Affiliated Research Fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Tech University, has recently published a new book chapter on "Contrasting Approaches to Middle Power Diplomacy: A Comparative Study of the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk Yeol Administrations" in South Korea in the Context of US-China Competition: Negotiating the Growing Tensions between Geopolitics and Geo-Economics.

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE 4,755 trillion won is the total amount that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix announced they would invest by 2035 as part of the Lee Jae-myung administration's "Three Mega Projects for a Great Leap Forward" on June 29. While this figure represents the sum of the two companies' existing investment projects, the amount announced by the government, base

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE Five days before South Korea's Lee Jae-myung administration announced three major mega-projects centered on semiconductor companies on the 29th of last month, Japan's Takaichi administration also unveiled a large-scale investment plan. It publicly declared that the public and private sectors would jointly invest 370 trillion yen in strategic industr

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE The term 'China shock' refers to the phenomenon in which manufacturing production and employment in developed countries, such as the United States, which are exposed to imports from China, have shrunk as China's exports surged following China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. In fact, empirical analysis by Professor David Au

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, the South Korean stock market has been met with mixed cheers and sighs. The KOSPI index surged more than threefold from 2,770 on June 4, 2025, the day the president took office, to 9,115 on June 22, 2026, approximately one year later. However, it subsequently plummeted, falling to 5,593 in July,

Dr. Kiho Han, Director (Associate Professor) of the Research Laboratory at the Ajou University Institute for Unification Studies and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE It is the 73rd anniversary of the Armistice Agreement. Since the sound of war shelling ceased on the Korean Peninsula, enough time has passed for a person to be born and grow old. During this time, countless events and incidents have been engraved into the tree rings of division between the South and the North

Dr. Yangmo Ku, our Center's Affiliated Research Fellow and Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Peace and War Center (PAWC) at Norwich University, has recently published a new book, Nuclear North Korea: Strategy & Practice from the Korean War to the New Cold War.

Dr. Kiho Han, Director (Associate Professor) of the Research Laboratory at the Ajou University Institute for Unification Studies and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE NK News Op-ed by Dr. Kiho Han (July 15, 2026) (There might be a paywall for this op-ed.) (The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official stance of the center.)

Dr. Kiho Han, Director (Associate Professor) of the Research Laboratory at the Ajou University Institute for Unification Studies and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE On June 8, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un personally greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at Pyongyang Sunan Airport. When large portraits of the two leaders hung side by side in Kim Il Sung Square, the international community took notice of the highest level of close protocol, a reenactmen

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE As of June 19, 2026, the exchange rate of the Korean Won against the US Dollar stands at 1,523 won per dollar, based on the Bank of Korea's buying and selling rates. At the beginning of the year, the exchange rate was 1,435 won per dollar, but it has been steadily rising since then. Typically, a sharp rise in the exchange rate signifies a shortage o

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE Nikkei Asia Op-ed by Dr. Kangkook Lee (June 1, 2026) (The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official stance of the center.)

Dr. Kiho Han, Director (Associate Professor) of the Research Laboratory at the Ajou University Institute for Unification Studies and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE The match began at 7 p.m. on May 20 amidst rain falling at a rate of 40mm per hour. While watching the fierce battle unfold, I encountered hybrid emotions unlike anything I had experienced before. Where did that internal turmoil come from, and how did it reach my personal senses? This question was significant

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE On the morning of May 12, the KOSPI index plummeted by 5 percentage points in an instant. Having risen to 7,999 with the 8,000 mark in sight, the index plunged to the 7,420s before recovering to close at 7,643. While stock markets in other Asian countries also declined at a similar time due to news of a potential renewed escalation of the U.S.-Iran

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE In my previous post, I wrote that the U.S. economy is taking on a "K-shape," but what about the Korean economy, the literal originator of the K? Looking solely at economic growth, the Korean economy in 2026 appears to be entering a boom phase thanks to a significant increase in manufacturing exports led by semiconductors. The economic growth rate is

Dr. Kiho Han, Director (Associate Professor) of the Research Laboratory at the Ajou University Institute for Unification Studies and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE NK News Op-ed by Dr. Kiho Han (May 13, 2026) (There might be a paywall for this op-ed.) (The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official stance of the center.)

Dr. Kangkook Lee is Professor of College of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Japan and Affiliated Research Fellow at CUKPE The expression describing the recent U.S. economy is the letter 'K.' It is not the K for Korea, but a K signifying that the gap is widening in the shape of a K. In October 2025, The New York Times published an article stating that while the wealthy saw a significant increase in consumption alongside rising stock prices, the lives of the low-income c