April 27,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (May 2021)

In the wake of the inauguration of the Biden administration, a flurry of diplomatic activities in the Indo-Pacific ensued in March and April, which brought into sharp focus South Korea’s growing dilemma as a middle power wedged between its closest security ally, the US, and largest trading partner, China. With liberal internationalist Joe Biden and authoritarian Xi Jinping at the helm, ..

Munkyoung Shin , Munkyoung Shin
Anti-leaflet law , Quad , Special Measures Agreement , US-China rivalry , US-ROK alliance
April 27,2021 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 9, No. 2

The months of March and April saw a revival of energetic exchanges on international affairs after the dulling effect of the past year of pandemic and the dark shadow of Trumpism. Biden reenergized bilateral and multilateral diplomacy with the Quad as one of the key themes in the quest for understanding new dynamism in the Indo-Pacific. India drew attention as critical to the prospects for the..

Editorial Staff
Quad , US-China rivalry , US-DPRK diplomacy , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance
February 15,2021 National Commentaries

A Russian Perspective on the Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

An authoritative Russian book makes clear how Moscow views the situation on the Korean Peninsula and what it would like the new US administration to do. The starting point is sharp criticism that the West ignored equal dialogue, respect for Russia’s sovereignty, and consideration for its core interests. While the Korean Peninsula is not a core interest, it has become a testing ground fo..

Editorial Staff
Eastern Economic Forum , Eurasia , Joe Biden , Khasan-Rajin transit , Sinocentrism , Six-Party Talks , Vladimir Putin
February 02,2021 Open Forum

Biden’s Asia Policymakers

Despite credit given to Donald Trump for toughening US policy toward China and even trying a new approach to North Korea, his approach to the Indo-Pacific was roundly condemned for: poor choice of officials and little coordination; disruption of alliances with distrust of multilateralism; discordant messages with idiosyncratic goals; and little presidential presence or articulation of values...

Editorial Staff
COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , Quad Plus , Sharp power , US-ROK aliance
January 21,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (January 2021)

Attention drifted in November 2020 to January 2021 from the election of Joe Biden in the US to the visit of Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi to action against the spreading of leaflets into North Korea to the handling of court decisions central to the dispute with Japan over the legacy of its occupation of Korea. Thus, fleeting concern with each of the four relationships at the core of Sout..

Sanghwa Hong
Anti-leaflet law , comfort women , COVID-19 , GSOMIA , Joe Biden , THAAD
December 30,2020 Special Forum

US-DPRK relations and China’s response in the Biden era

Whether Washington and Beijing cooperate under the Biden administration depends heavily on whether they reach an understanding on how to approach the DPRK. This was a touchstone for prospects of cooperation under George W. Bush and Barack Obama as well as during the first year of the Trump administration. China is watching to see what US policy toward North Korea’s denuclearization will..

Cheng Xiaohe*
COVID-19 , Denuclearization , Economic sanctions , THAAD , US-China rivalry , US-DPRK diplomacy
December 10,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 6

The late fall of 2020 saw attention turn to Joe Biden, including his nominees for policy posts in national security and their thinking on the Indo-Pacific region. He prioritizes rebuilding alliances and partnerships, but some asked what would he seek from these countries. If Biden would not follow Trump’s lead in top-down diplomacy with Kim Jong-un, few expected that the staggered pac..

Editorial Staff
BRI , free and open Indo-Pacific , Korean War , SCO , strategic patience , the Quad , US-China rivalry
September 02,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (September 2020)

In the summer of 2020 foreign policy was largely on hold. The pandemic effect, the wait for US elections, and the relative caution shown by North Korea unwilling to alienate Donald Trump even if it could lash out at Moon Jae-in’s inaction, all left policy choices in limbo. Ties to Japan remained deeply troubled, although Abe Shinzo’s announcement at the end of August that he would..

Sanghwa Hong
OPCON transfer , Paik Sun-yup , Special Measures Agreement , US-China rivalry , Yang Jiechi
August 31,2020 National Commentaries

A South Korean Perspective

South Korea places human rights as one of its main policy principles and is a member of seven international treaties. In recent months, the Moon administration has faced increased international criticism over its handling of human rights issues among its two neighboring countries – North Korea and China. President Moon Jae-in, a former human rights activist who came into office through the ..

Yumi Ko
byungjin policy , Hong Kong , Moon Jae-in , Sunshine Policy , US-China rivalry , Uyghur , Xinjiang
June 26,2020 Open Forum

Three Spikes and You Are Out? China-DPRK Relations after the Cold War and the US

Exchanges of visits between Chinese and DPRK leaders and high-level delegations have been relatively rare since the end of the Cold War. However, meetings between leaders saw three abnormal peaks in 1999-2001, 2010-2012, and 2018-2019. If after the Cold War the bilateral relationship cooled, room was left for China’s leaders to respond to changes in the Sino-US relationship, which repea..

Jiang Tianjiao
China-DPRK relations , China-US relations , COVID-19 , Denuclearization , Hanoi summit , Six-Party Talks