Nov 30,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (November 2016)

Recently, domestic events have so dominated the news that foreign affairs coverage has been reduced to only occasional stories. The Trump election was an unavoidable theme. The aftermath of North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in September continues to draw some notice. Finally, the decision to sign an intelligence sharing agreement with Japan aroused some responses. […]

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)

5th nuclear test , EDSCG , GSOMIA , KORUS FTA , Nuclear threat , offshore balancing , ROK-US Alliance , strategic patience , THAAD , Trump administration

Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

Introduction

Park Geun-hye’s sober foreign policy choices in 2016 pointedly contrast with her much-lauded ambitions of 2014-2015. In this set of articles we make the comparisons, suggest reasons for the changes, and explore implications of this transformation. We ask: Was this an awakening from illusions to harsh realities? Was it a shift from Plan A to […]

Editorial Staff

4th nuclear test , 5th nuclear test , bonanza , comfort women , Crimea , Eastern Economic Forum , Eurasian Economic Initiative , Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative , South China Sea , THAAD

Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

Growing Threats and Shifting Policies on the Korean Peninsula

President Park Geun-hye began her term in 2013 with high hopes, or at least plans for engaging North Korea to resolve the nuclear issue as well as appealing to China for assistance in reining in its recalcitrant ally. Instead, Park nears the end of her tenure having reversed herself after both policies failed to achieve […]

Bruce Klingner

3rd nuclear test , 4th nuclear test , Denuclearization , Dresden Declaration , Kaesong Industrial Complex , Korean unification , landmine crisis , Sunshine Policy , THAAD , Trustpolitik

Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

South Korea’s Realignment in 2016: Opportunities, Changes, and Challenges

Since its fourth nuclear test on January 6, 2015, North Korea has been showing off its nuclear capability to acquire the status of a nuclear state. Its parade of nuclear weapons-related tests, which South Korea calls strategic provocations, is casting a dark shadow over not only the Korean Peninsula but also Northeast Asia and the […]

Shin Beomchul*

4thnuclear test , 5th nuclear test , AIIB , Denuclearization , GSOMIA , human rights , Kaesong Industrial Complex , Middle Power Diplomacy , Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative , Park Geun-hye

Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

Synopsis of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs, September 23, 2016

In the early autumn of 2016, there were repeated seminars and exchanges in Seoul and Washington, DC on three interrelated topics: how to respond effectively to the North Korean threat, how to manage Sino-US relations with North Korea more than the South China Sea in the forefront, and how South Korea should reassert its drive […]

Editorial Staff

4th nuclear test , 5th nuclear test , ASEAN , East Asia Summit , Eurasia Economic Union , G2 , Maritime security , Maritime Silk Road , Nordpolitik , offshore balancing

Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

South Korean Domestic Support for the US Alliance

Both in Seoul and in Washington, the nature of the ROK-US alliance has become a hot topic. Not only the issues of THAAD and the South China Sea, but, more generally, deteriorating relations between the United States and China have made people in both countries concerned about the impact on ROK-US ties. Before this kind […]

Woo Jung-Yeop*

1994 Agreed Framework , 2008 beef import protests , anti-American sentiment , axis of evil , Jeju naval base , Korean unification , KORUS FTA , Middle Power Diplomacy , nuclear proliferation , public opinion

Oct 26,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario I

As Abe Shinzo proceeds at breakneck pace to reach a breakthrough with Vladimir Putin, at least five questions need to be addressed from the perspective of the United States. First, is there reason to object to a territorial settlement less than the optimal position of Japan in years past? Second, what economic arrangements between Japan […]

Gilbert Rozman

four islands in a batch , G7 , Multipolarity , Putin , Russian Far East , sanctions , Shinzo Abe , THAAD , two plus alpha

Oct 18,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2016)

How did Abe’s meeting with Putin in Vladivostok contribute to a breakthrough in relations? How are growing tensions over the South China Sea (and divisiveness within ASEAN) and the North Korean nuclear threat impacting Japan? How are relations with South Korea seen now that payment to the “comfort women” fund has been authorized? In the […]

Editorial Staff

ASEAN , comfort women , G20 , rebalance , SCO , Sino-Russian rapprochement , South China Sea , THAAD

Oct 18,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (October 2016)

In the aftermath of North Korea’s 5th nuclear test, the ideological divide in South Korea has become more intense. On the conservative wing, the need for tougher sanctions and military preparation, even self-nuclearization from those at the extreme, was discussed. On the progressive wing, skepticism about the limits of international sanctions and calls for dialogue […]

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)

comfort women , GSOMIA , Nuclear Test , strategic patience , THAAD

Oct 14,2016 Open Forum

Asian Security after US Hegemony: Spheres of Influence and the Third Wave of Regional Order

The Asian security landscape is unsettled. The region is quickly becoming multipolar. Hedging strategies—even by US allies—are now commonplace. Intra-regional trust remains low amid myriad territorial and strategic disputes. And Asia’s regional institutions remain unwilling to take on the tasks of security governance because member states will not allow it. These trends signal a region […]

Van Jackson

ASEAN , Cold War , imperialism , soft balancing , spheres of influence , THAAD