May 15,2019 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 7, No. 2

Exchanges in DC are increasingly torn between a focus on bilateral relations—in particular, US relations with China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan—or on trilateral relations. If the Sino-US relationship has enough heft to galvanize bilateral attention, the other pairings keep becoming enmeshed in triangular analysis. This report on recent seminars and presentations in DC […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , Hanoi summit , Singapore Summit , trilateralism , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance

May 10,2019 Special Forum

Korea’s Choice: Synopsis of the Asan Plenum 2019

The theme of this year’s Asan Plenum was Korea’s Choice, and the core question regarded a choice between reaffirmation of the ROK-US alliance and prioritization of reunification with the long-separated northern part of the peninsula. For the first time in seven decades this choice had become a serious factor in Seoul’s diplomatic thinking. In many […]

Editorial Staff

Donald Trump , Global Korea , inter-Korean summit , Kim Jong-un , Moon Jae-in , US-ROK alliance

Mar 01,2019 National Commentaries

A View from South Korea

Trump: Negotiator-in-Chief As US President Donald Trump wraps up his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with the announcement of a major foreign policy victory, we are reminded of Senator Howard Baker’s famous words in the Watergate hearings: “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” When the most powerful […]

Lee Chung Min*

Hanoi summit , King Kojong , Munich Agreement , Singapore Summit , US-ROK alliance

Aug 31,2018 Special Forum

Introduction

Relations between Washington and Beijing are said to be worse than at any point since their normalization in 1979, and they are on the verge of plunging further through a “trade war” over the horizon, military tensions over the South China Sea and Taiwan where past management is being challenged, exposure of the illusion of […]

Editorial Staff

South China Sea , trade war , US-ROK alliance

Aug 31,2018 Special Forum

US-China Rivalry and the Future of the Korean Peninsula

The ongoing “trade war” between the United States and China is not just a trade dispute in light of the two sides’ intensifying rivalry in the area of strategic technologies. The rivalry has deepened as China has stepped up efforts to overtake western countries in advanced technologies, especially for semiconductors (the silicon brains required to […]

Kim Sung-han*

alliance transition , CVID , Panmunjom Declaration , Quad , THAAD , US-ROK alliance , value alliance

Jun 30,2018 Special Forum

US-ROK Relations

The US relationship with the Korean Peninsula is an interesting variation of a strategic triangle.1 Indeed, the United States’ relationships with North Korea and South Korea are hard to analyze except as part of this triangle. Traditionally, the tight and robust US-ROK alliance, along with North Korea’s isolation from the international system, has limited if […]

Darcie Draudt

inter-Korean summit , Singapore Statement , Trump-Kim summit , US-ROK alliance , US-ROK military exercises

May 01,2018 National Commentaries

A View from Russia, China, and Sundry Progressives

The optimism is palpable despite whiffs of concern. Many who had long been saying that North Korea only needed to be reassured to become a reliable diplomatic partner with willingness to abandon its threats and proceed to denuclearization in stages now feel vindicated. Instead of being some sort of madman, Kim Jong-un proved to be […]

Editorial Staff

inter-Korean summit , Pyeongchang Olympics , Regional security framework , US-ROK alliance

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

Introduction

As the diplomatic prospects for resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis took center stage while the military focus remained fixed on North Korea’s persistent advances and the “fire and fury” that President Trump threatened to unleash, it remained important in the first months of 2018 to keep the eyes of the international community on South […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , KORUS FTA , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , US-ROK alliance

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

South Korean Public Opinion

The year 2017 brought unusual dynamism all around the world and particularly related to the Korean Peninsula. In the United States, an unprecedented type of president was inaugurated with scant appreciation of alliances and apparent lack of knowledge of the relations between the United States and South Korea, bringing an unfamiliar and wary air to […]

Kim Jiyoon*

Cheonan , KORUS FTA , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , US-ROK alliance

Jan 04,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (December 2017)

In late 2017, a succession of galvanizing themes dominated media coverage in Japan. At the beginning of November and again in mid-December, the media focused on Moon Jae-in’s turn toward China. Through much of November, it was Donald Trump’s travels to five countries in Asia, beginning with Japan. By early December, the focus had turned […]

Editorial Staff

North Korea , Russiagate , THAAD , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-Japan FTA , US-ROK alliance