John K. Yi
John K. Yi is an Alfa Fellow currently living in Moscow, Russia. He received his M.A. in Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern European Studies at Georgetown University, focusing on Russian foreign policy in East Asia and in the Six Party Talks.
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Kremlin Human Rights Watchdog’s New Master
May 5, 2012 by John K. Yi
In two days, Vladimir Putin will be inaugurated for this third term as the President of the Russian Federation. And with his reentry into the nation’s chief position, the issue of human rights and the development of civil society, a touted reform in the past four years under current President Medvedev, face an uncertain future. Earlier this week President Medvedev’s held his final meeting with the Kremlin’s Council on the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.
A Party Without Putin
April 19, 2012 by John K. Yi
In addition to swapping government posts, the political tandem of Putin and Medvedev, which has dominated Russian politics for the past half decade, may be configuring yet another switch. According to the Russian newspaper, Vedomosti, President-elect Vladimir Putin and soon-to-be Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev are set to separately meet with leading members of the ruling United Russia Party in late May.
GOP and Putin Find Common Ground: The Cold War
April 3, 2012 by John K. Yi
Republican Presidential primary front-runner Mitt Romney declared Russia “without question, [is] our No. 1 geopolitical foe.” This statement accompanied a larger criticism lobbied against President Obama and his hot mic slip last week with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev at the Seoul Nuclear Summit.
Disengagement the Best Engagement for North Korea
March 21, 2012 by John K. Yi
It took a record one month for U.S.-North Korean talks over a food for nuclear freeze swap to fall into the all too common war of words where Pyongyang threatens with war against the U.S. and South Korea. And while admittedly this game of hot and cold isn’t anything new, what’s different this time is the record speed in which it happened.
Post-Fukushima Japan’s Energy Market
February 28, 2012 by John K. Yi
In a few weeks it will be the one year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, which had all but soured the Japanese public’s appetite for nuclear energy. What once supplied 25% of the country’s energy needs, nuclear power plants are being decommissioned one by one. As of February 2011, only two of the country’s 54 commercial reactors remained functioning.
The American Revolution for Energy Independence
February 17, 2012 by John K. Yi
You wouldn’t know it, but according to recent reports the United States is on the road to energy independence. That’s the same “energy independence” that American political leaders have been promising the electorate for years, lambasting America’s addiction to foreign oil. And thanks to a relatively unknown sedimentary rock called shale, it seems that true energy independence may very well be within arms reach.
Seoul’s “New” Political Parties
February 5, 2012 by John K. Yi
With the April National Assembly elections just a few months off, the two main South Korean political parties have undergone major face-lifts, or at least they’ve been trying to and for good reason. Just this past week, the ruling conservative Grand National Party (GNP), under the chairmanship of one of South Korea’s most influential female politician Park Geun-hye, reemerged as the Saenuri Party (meaning the “New World” Party).
The Kremlin’s Version of Russia Without Fools
January 26, 2012 by John K. Yi
It’s a new website that seems befitting of the angry mood amongst Russians over the last month’s Duma elections and the coming March Presidential elections, which have all but promised the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin. Called “Russia Without Fools” (Rossia bez durakov), the website begins with the following words: Friends, everyday we are faced with stupid standards and laws, decisions far from elementary logic, and complex regulations and unexplainable restrictions…And so we personally offer to you a real opportunity to find and destroy specific stupidities.
China, South Korean Energy Competition
January 13, 2012 by John K. Yi
South Korean conglomerate and energy giant, the SK Group, in the past few days has made moves to gain a stronger foothold in China’s energy transportation market, in particular in China Gas Holdings. China Gas Holdings is a major player in China’s natural gas pipeline and infrastructure industry and is especially active in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) markets.
Moscow’s Leadership Gamble in Syria
January 9, 2012 by John K. Yi
Yesterday, Syrian Minister of Defense, Dawoud Rajha, visited Russia’s one and only aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, which was docked in his country’s port city of Tartous. The visit comes at a time when the ruling al-Assad regime is gripped in a ten-month civil uprising, which has recently verged on civil war. The U.S., the European Union, and the UN have all accused Damascus for attacking its own people and refusing to take necessary political reform demanded by protesters.
North Korea’s Show of Stability
December 23, 2011 by John K. Yi
There’s been much talk about how North Korea has arrived at a turning point in its history. However, Pyongyang’s behavior before and after the official announcement of the death of its “Beloved Leader,” Kim Jong-il, indicates that change may not come as quickly as many may hope. If there’s one thing Pyongyang has managed to handle well in the aftermath of the death of its nation’s strongman is keeping a secret.
China’s Trawler Diplomacy
December 13, 2011 by John K. Yi
Yesterday, two South Korean coast guards officers were stabbed by a captain of a Chinese fishing boat accused of illegally fishing in ROK waters. One officer died after being brought to a hospital and the other is undergoing surgery for stabs in his abdomen. The South Korean Foreign Ministry promptly responded by meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen where the Vice Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan “strongly demanded that the Chinese government strictly clamp down on illegal fishing and the illegal acts of Chinese fishermen.”
Testing Seoul’s Green Energy Abroad
December 6, 2011 by John K. Yi
In what is widely considered as Seoul’s next step in becoming a heavy weight in the world of alternative energy technology, South Korean state owned energy giant, Korean Electric Power Company (KEPCO) will develop a massive offshore wind farm project on the southwest coast of the country. The network of wind turbines will boast a 2.5-gigawatt yield and when completed by 2016, it will be the largest of its kind.
Matviyenko’s Lessons in the Decentralization of Russia
November 29, 2011 by John K. Yi
In the past two months, the less well-known half of the Russian legislature, the Federation Council, has been experiencing dramatic structural changes under the tenure of its new speaker, Valentina Matviyenko. While its counterpart, the Duma, is often criticized as a pro-Kremlin institution, the Federation Council’s adherence to the center is far more resolute.
Maintaining U.S. Space Primacy during China’s Rise
November 11, 2011 by John K. Yi
Has space exploration just become too costly, politically unappealing, or both? In the 1960’s, the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union, whose publics where fueled by the tensions of the Cold War, found themselves as pioneers of space travel and exploration technology. Now with a space race that’s no more, the political will and pursuit of going into “the beyond” has garnered a lackluster appeal by the public and policy makers. And it’s showing in both Washington and Moscow.
