Travel to North Korea: Should it be Prohibited in the Aftermath of American Student’s Death?

Foreign Affairs, Governance, Human Rights
, by The tragic death of Otto Warmbier has again raised the question of whether travel to North Korea ought to be prohibited by the United States government. Prohibiting travel by Americans to North Korea has been talked about for some time, primarily on Capitol Hill. Arguments for a travel ban are (1) to protect the safety and wellbeing of American citizens; and (2) travel is a source of hard currency for the Kim regime which goes to the “royal economy” for imported French cognac and luxury automobiles for the young leader, as well as to fund nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

What are the Challenges for the New South Korean President?

Governance
, by and Exit polls from the May 9th election in South Korea indicate that Moon Jae-in will be the country’s next president. Moon will enter office after more than six months of domestic political turmoil following the impeachment of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Under these circumstances, Moon is likely to face a series of domestic and foreign policy challenges early in his presidential term.

Polls Quiet, Predata Signals Take the Pulse of the South Korean Electorate

Governance
, by On May 9, South Koreans go to the polls in a snap presidential election. Predata signals show that with the vote approaching, online conversations about the economy are louder than those about national security. The latest public opinion surveys found Moon held a commanding lead. But a polling blackout took effect on May 3, leaving observers to wonder how public sentiment may shift in the crucial week before balloting.

U.S. Elections and North Korean Provocations Since 1956

Governance, Military
Beyond Parallel conducted a study of whether there are patterns to North Korean behavior around U.S. elections. To carry out this study we created a dataset of U.S. election events, incorporating both presidential and congressional midterm election years, and cross-tabulated this information with our original dataset on North Korean provocations over the same period.