Jan 07,2020 National Commentaries

A View from South Korea

The New Southern Policy (NSP) aims to elevate Korea’s strategic ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including its member states, and with India, in the process cooperating with Korea’s four major diplomatic partners: The United States, China, Japan, and Russia. It is a novel attempt to put ASEAN member states (AMS) and […]

Sungil Kwak

"Belt and Road" Initiative , ASEAN-ROK summit , Free ad Open Indo-Pacific , New Southern Policy , Saemaeul Movement

Jan 07,2020 National Commentaries

A View from India

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) under a Pan-Asian framework has figured highly in South Korea’s foreign policy over the last decade. The New Asia Initiative (NAI) in 2009 witnessed South Korea factoring ASEAN in its regional diplomacy, moving away from its excessive focus on Northeast Asia. Unlike ASEAN, India was never accorded a […]

Jagannath Panda

Act East Policy , CEPA , free and open Indo-Pacific , New Southern Policy , RCEP , US-China rivalry

Jan 07,2020 National Commentaries

A View from Southeast Asia

The 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit was held in Busan from November 25-26 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations. The summit – a high point of President Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy (NSP) since his announcement of the policy in November 2017 – produced several achievements. Many MOUs were signed; bilateral […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee* , Chiew-Ping Hoo

ASEAN-ROK summit , ASEAN+3 summit , Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement , East Asia Vision Group , KOICA , KOTRA , Look East policy , New Southern Policy , ROK-Mekong summit

Dec 31,2019 Open Forum

Russian Commentary on South Korea in 2019

For the last three decades, since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the perception of South Korea in Russia has been generally positive. This has been true with respect to Russia’s general public and the political-expert community as well as the mass media. Such favorable attitudes have much to do with the fact that Russia […]

Artyom Lukin

Eastern Economic Forum , Finlandization , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , Khasan-Rajin project , Korean wave , New Southern Policy , Nine Bridges Initiative

Dec 20,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2019)

In late 2019, Chinese analysts advocated for a Chinese conception of global governance to replace that previously put forward by the United States and the West. They urged China and South Korea to seize the opportunity created by reduced tensions on the Korean peninsula to strengthen their bilateral security cooperation. They also tried to make […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

"Belt and Road" Initiative , community of common destiny , New Southern Policy , Socialism with Chinese Characteristics , THAAD , US-North Korean talks

Oct 18,2019 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 7, No. 5

No topic stirred as much interest in DC think tanks as the US-Japan-South Korean triangle. In the background loomed North Korea, leading to overlapping interest in the Sino-North Korean-US triangle. The driving force remained Donald Trump, keeping on edge US relations with each of the other three countries. Naturally, the latter triangle was seen also […]

Editorial Staff

Act East Policy , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , New Southern Policy , Trump-Kim summit , US-China trade war , US-ROK alliance

Apr 30,2019 National Commentaries

A View from Southeast Asia on South Korea

When Moon Jae-in announced the “New Southern Policy” (NSP) during his visit to Indonesia in November 2017, the Korean foreign policy watchers scrambled to find out whether there was a “Southern Policy” before. Though it is obvious that no president ever announced a policy of engagement with Southeast Asian countries as a “southern policy,” almost […]

Chiew-Ping Hoo

"Belt and Road" Initiative , 5G , New Southern Policy , Nordpolitik , Sunshine Policy

Apr 22,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: China (April 2019)

In early 2019, Chinese experts assessed Chinese–Korean economic relations, China’s relationship with South Korea, and the potential for extending the Belt and Road Initiative to Northeast Asia. They also evaluated the Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, long-term shifts in Sino–US relations and the evolution of the US–Japan alliance under the Trump administration. China–Korean economic relations In […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

"Belt and Road" Initiative , CPTPP , Indo-Pacific strategy , New Southern Policy , Six-Party Talks , THAAD