For 30 years, Korea has been careful to balance its largest neighbor China on the one hand, and its security partner the U.S. on the other.

Korea emerged in 2022 as one of the world’s most prolific arms exporters with an unprecedented $15-20 billion sale of military hardware.

South Korea’s expansion of its geopolitical focus to the Indo-Pacific signals closer cooperation with the U.S. and other like-minded nations.

In 2022, Korea-Japan relations seemed poised for a return to cooperation after a period of dysfunction and tension, but have not to date.

North Korea's missile tests likely have less to do with any military threat, and much more to do with COVID and its domestic impacts.