All Eyes on South Korea: Domestic Reform, Great Power Relations, and North Korea

Introduction

Amid increasing uncertainties in Sino-US relations and Japan-South Korea relations, the late spring of 2017 prioritized US-ROK relations. After Moon Jae-in was elected as president, Seoul-watchers followed closely his policy and personnel decisions. In particular, they focused on their implications for US-ROK relations, as Moon awaits his first summit with Donald Trump, whose policies toward ..

Editorial Staff
June 29,2017

Moon Jae-in’s Foreign Policy & Roh Moo-hyun’s Shadow

40 days into his presidency, Moon Jae-in appointed the nation’s first female foreign minister. However, fine-tuning for policy coherence and clarity on some key foreign policy items among his advisors has yet to happen. The main discord is not about national interests, but more ideological and philosophical, regarding South Korea’s position in the ROK-US alliance matrix and also th..

Lee Seong-hyon
FTA , Moon Jae-in , OPCON , Sunshine Policy , THAAD
June 29,2017

The ROK-US Summit: Divide in the South Korean Media

As the summit between newly elected Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump draws closer, South Korean newspapers are sharply divided over Moon’s policy posture, its potential impact on relations with the United States and China, as well as the prospects of revising Seoul’s approach to North Korea, which may be at odds with the US approach. Moon spoke on June 15 in honor of the 17th annivers..

Editorial Staff
America First , Donald Trump , Moon Jae-in , Otto Warmbier , Sunshine Policy , THAAD
June 29,2017

Moon Jae-in’s “Two-track” Japan Policy: Prospects for Success

President Moon Jae-in and his new government, launched immediately after the election results on May 9, 2017, is taking a “two-track” strategy towards Japan. For example, Moon Hee-sang, deputy chair of the National Assembly and former chair of the Japan-South Korea Dietmen’s League, who headed the special envoy team to Japan, mentioned on his way back home that the “co..

Lee Myon-woo
comfort women , GSOMIA , Moon Jae-in , Revisionism , THAAD , Two-track policy
June 29,2017

Synopsis: What Next? South Korean Politics, Policy, North Korea, and the US Alliance

In exploring South Korea’s transformation under Moon Jae-in, the discussions in Washington DC two weeks after Moon took office provide a useful starting point. Koreans and Americans exchanged thoughts and raised doubts on the prospects of ROK-US relations. Naturally, a major element was the effort by Koreans to report on recent developments and clarify uncertainties arising from Moon&rs..

Editorial Staff
Donald Trump , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , Moon-Trump summit , OPCON , THAAD