Aug 23,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 5, No. 4

A relatively quiet summer for think tanks was punctuated by an unusual degree of trepidation about developments in the Asia-Pacific region and US policy responses. Discussions in early summer, when US-South Korean relations appeared threatened, gave way to warnings in August about US-North Korean tensions that could lead to conflict as well as Sino-US relations, […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , East China Sea , KORUS FTA , OBOR , South China Sea , THAAD , TPP , trilateralism , Trump-Moon summit , Trump-Xi Summit

Aug 21,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (July 2017)

The divide over Russia’s Asian policies came into the open and sharpened as hopes for Trump changing US policy have been dashed and Putin’s prominent role at the Belt and Road Initiative summit failed to yield tangible benefits. The mainstream view calls for staying the course, tweaking the label from “Turn to the East” to […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Eurasian Economic Union , Greater Eurasia , OBOR , SCO , Silk Road Economic Belt , THAAD , turn to the East

Aug 18,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (August 2017)

In mid-2017, Chinese analysts were preoccupied with the North Korean nuclear crisis and the South Korean decision to deploy THAAD. They identified uncertainties in the South Korea–China relationship and defined an emerging East Asian regional structure. They also assessed the Trump administration’s foreign policy and criticized Japan’s public diplomacy efforts. North Korean Nuclear CrisisIn Shijie […]

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

comfort women , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , ICBM , secondary sanctions , Strategic accountability , THAAD , TPP , UN sanctions

Aug 16,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (July 2017)

President Moon made his international debut at the summit with President Trump in Washington and at meetings with the G20 leaders in Germany. His debut was generally considered successful. On the surface, the first meeting between Moon and Trump appeared to be a meaningful one, reaffirming the solidarity of the alliance between South Korea and […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , G20 , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , THAAD , Trump-Moon summit

Jun 29,2017 Special Forum

Introduction

Amid increasing uncertainties in Sino-US relations and Japan-South Korea relations, the late spring of 2017 prioritized US-ROK relations. After Moon Jae-in was elected as president, Seoul-watchers followed closely his policy and personnel decisions. In particular, they focused on their implications for US-ROK relations, as Moon awaits his first summit with Donald Trump, whose policies toward […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , Donald Trump , FTA , Moon Jae-in , Moon-Trump summit , Sunshine Policy , THAAD , Xi Jinping

Jun 29,2017 Special Forum

Moon Jae-in’s Foreign Policy & Roh Moo-hyun’s Shadow

40 days into his presidency, Moon Jae-in appointed the nation’s first female foreign minister. However, fine-tuning for policy coherence and clarity on some key foreign policy items among his advisors has yet to happen. The main discord is not about national interests, but more ideological and philosophical, regarding South Korea’s position in the ROK-US alliance […]

Lee Seong-hyon

FTA , Moon Jae-in , OPCON , Sunshine Policy , THAAD

Jun 29,2017 Special Forum

The ROK-US Summit: Divide in the South Korean Media

As the summit between newly elected Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump draws closer, South Korean newspapers are sharply divided over Moon’s policy posture, its potential impact on relations with the United States and China, as well as the prospects of revising Seoul’s approach to North Korea, which may be at odds with the US approach. […]

Editorial Staff

America First , Donald Trump , Moon Jae-in , Otto Warmbier , Sunshine Policy , THAAD

Jun 29,2017 Special Forum

Moon Jae-in’s “Two-track” Japan Policy: Prospects for Success

President Moon Jae-in and his new government, launched immediately after the election results on May 9, 2017, is taking a “two-track” strategy towards Japan. For example, Moon Hee-sang, deputy chair of the National Assembly and former chair of the Japan-South Korea Dietmen’s League, who headed the special envoy team to Japan, mentioned on his way […]

Lee Myon-woo

comfort women , GSOMIA , Moon Jae-in , Revisionism , THAAD , Two-track policy

Jun 29,2017 Special Forum

Synopsis: What Next? South Korean Politics, Policy, North Korea, and the US Alliance

In exploring South Korea’s transformation under Moon Jae-in, the discussions in Washington DC two weeks after Moon took office provide a useful starting point. Koreans and Americans exchanged thoughts and raised doubts on the prospects of ROK-US relations. Naturally, a major element was the effort by Koreans to report on recent developments and clarify uncertainties […]

Editorial Staff

Donald Trump , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , Moon-Trump summit , OPCON , THAAD

Jun 21,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (June 2017)

In the spring of 2017, Chinese experts criticized China’s North Korea policy, assessed the implications of Moon Jae-in’s election, and evaluated South Korea’s middle-power diplomacy in the G20. They analyzed ASEAN relations with China and Japan. They also examined the persistence of the US–Japan alliance and the deterioration of Sino–Japanese security relations. China’s North Korea […]

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

BRI , BRICS , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , G20 , Middle Power Diplomacy , MIKTA , South China Sea , THAAD