June 11,2015 Special Forum

Option 1: Enhancing Military Deterrence

In the face of the intensifying threat from North Korea, the option that should be foremost in the strategic calculus of South Koreans is enhancing their country’s capacity for deterrence, relying, above all, on their own military forces and only secondarily on those of the United States. Without making a strong commitment of its own, Seoul is in a weak position to seek a greater commitment from..

Hong Kyudok*
KAMD , Kill-Chain , MRL
June 11,2015 Special Forum

Option 2: Strengthening the ROK-US Alliance

*The views expressed in this report are the author’s alone and do not represent the official position of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the US government. The security environment in Northeast Asia has undergone significant changes over the past two decades and continues to evolve towards an uncertain future. Particularly important for South Korea has been the incre..

Terence Roehrig
OPCON transfer , ROK-US Alliance , THAAD
June 11,2015 Special Forum

Option 3: Reclaiming Diplomatic Ownership

During the more than five centuries of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910), Korea practiced one-dimensional diplomacy; it had only to take care of its tributary relationship with China. Within this arrangement, Korea enjoyed de facto independence except for ownership of its diplomacy, which Korea had to relinquish to China. This configuration is what some scholars refer to as “benign neglect.” Then, Ko..

Choi YJ*
AIIB , multidimensional diplomacy , Sino-US Relations , TPP
June 11,2015 Special Forum

Option 4: Resuming the Six-Party Talks

The Korean Peninsula has been divided for over seventy years, and there is no sign that the division will end any time soon. The ROK and the DPRK are bogged down in a drawn-out competition, in which neither side has made decisive progress in pursuit of national unification. Recently, the competition entered a new stage, in which additional factors have risen to the forefront. First, China is risin..

Cheng Xiaohe*
NAPCI , Sino-ROK Relations , Six-Party Talks
June 11,2015 Special Forum

Option 5: Rethinking Middle Power Diplomacy

Since the Cold War, South Korea has never been in a lonelier position as four great powers and North Korea have appeared to bypass it in their “pivots” to or within Asia. If North Korea has pivoted to anywhere it is to Moscow, while stonewalling Seoul. The two transformative summits of mid-spring 2015 saw Abe Shinzo and Barack Obama strengthen ties, leaving Park Geun-hye on the sidelines, and ..

Gilbert Rozman
Eurasian Initiative , hedging , MIKTA , NAPCI , Trustpolitik , US-Japan-ROK Trilateralism
May 19,2015 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (May 2015)

The Park administration’s diplomatic strategy was tested in the last two months concerning AIIB and Japan. On AIIB, while Seoul kept silent about its decision before joining as a founding member, the pressure from Beijing and Washington was growing. The South Korean government labeled its diplomacy “strategic ambiguity,” but, on both the left and the right, commentators questioned if it coul..

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)
AIIB , historical revisionism , Kono Statement , THAAD
May 15,2015 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

  "Reading Abe’s Washington Visit"   A View from Washington   Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s visit to Washington produced major developments in Japan-US relations, particularly security relations. A new set of defense guidelines was announced that opens the way for Japan to expand its defense role and capabilities in order to provide more direct military support to t..

Larry A. Niksch
historical revisionism , Korea Fatigue , normal nation , trilateral cooperation
May 15,2015 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

  "Reading Abe’s Washington Visit"   A View from Tokyo   Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s visit to the United States drew widespread praise in both Tokyo and Washington, but in both capitals a wary eye was kept on the reaction in Seoul. The visit proceeded in a triangular context. Not only were the media focused on how Japanese and Americans would respond to develo..

Kazuhiko Togo
China’s rise , collective self-defense , historical revisionism , Korea Fatigue , TPP
May 15,2015 National Commentaries

A South Korean Perspective

  "Reading Abe’s Washington Visit"   A View from Seoul   From the standpoint of what Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and President Barack Obama wanted to achieve during the most recent US-Japan summit, Abe’s US tour was a resounding success. While a last-minute breakthrough on TPP did not materialize, the two leaders vowed to expedite negotiations, but much more imp..

Lee Chung Min*
China’s rise , comfort women , historical revisionism , Kono Statement , territorial issues
April 30,2015 Open Forum

Synopsis of the Asan Plenum 2015: Is the U.S. Back?

[Agenda] The overall theme, “Is the U.S. Back?" provided the context for discussing in various panels timely issues concerning international relations in East Asia. Given the stress on US policy, this synopsis begins with views regarding Obama’s “rebalance to Asia,” proceeds to discussions of Sino-US relations, and continues with themes where the US role loomed more in the background or..

Editorial Staff
AIIB , Cyberwar , Russian Pivot to Asia , Sino-US Relations