KEI Contributor

Naoko Aoki, Ph.D., is a research associate at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland and an adjunct professor at American University. She works primarily on East Asian political and security issues.

Her professional experience includes fellowships at the RAND Corporation and the U.S. House of Representatives. She was formerly a journalist based in Japan for nine years and China for five years. She has visited North Korea 18 times on reporting trips, and her academic work has centered on issues related to the North Korean nuclear problem.

She holds a Ph.D. in policy studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.A. in international relations and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

She is a native Japanese speaker and conducts research in Chinese and Korean as well.