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
May 25,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (May 2020)

One message stood apart in Russian coverage of international relations in the Indo-Pacific in the early spring of 2020: what is the impact of the pandemic on China and on Sino-US relations? In the background is the question: what will be the impact on Russian foreign policy? As for China, numerous questions are raised about its xenophobia, speed of recovery, political psychology, and altern..

Editorial Staff
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , COVID-19 , Eurasian Economic Union , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy
May 09,2020 Open Forum

Kim Jong-un’s Recent Absence: A Viewpoint from North Korean Media Analysis

“CONFIDENTIAL AND URGENT STOP LORD COPPER HIMSELF GRAVELY DISSATISFIED STOP LORD COPPER PERSONALLY REQUIRES VICTORIES STOP ON RECEIPT OF THIS CABLE VICTORY STOP CONTINUE CABLING VICTORIES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE STOP... “They don’t seem very pleased with me in London. They seem to want more news.”1 The British writer Evelyn Waugh’s 1938 novel, Scoop, caricatures f..

Rachel Minyoung Lee
Kim Il-sung , Kim Jong-il , Kim Jong-un , Kim Yo-jong , media analysis