Foreign Relations

The papers in this volume address some of the key issues that impacted Korea in 2012 and some important trends that will influence future policies. In the first year following…

Washington and Seoul are negotiating the replacement of their 1974 civil nuclear cooperation agreement that expires in March 2014. Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act (AEA) requires exports…

This paper aims to introduce the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP), which is Korea’s representative knowledge-sharing initiative seeking to support the development of partner countries by sharing Korea’s development experience.

Two thousand years ago, the “Silk Road” linked the Chinese and Roman empires, moving goods, people, and ideas between Asia and Europe. For centuries thereafter Central Asia remained the focus…

Time is running out regarding threats to the world’s undersea cables: The world needs to start acting, rather than just discussing the problem, since more attacks on this critical infrastructure are happening in reality. South Korea is well-positioned to become a leader in creating a new regime that regulates the undersea cable industry. As one…

South Korea established full diplomatic relations with Cuba on February 15, 2024, when the ambassadors of the two countries to the United Nations in New York City exchanged diplomatic notes formally establishing diplomatic ties.  The move was unexpected since there had been no recent public reports that the two countries were engaged in discussions regarding…

South Korea’s rapprochement with Japan and North Korea’s embrace of Russia significantly shaped events on the Korean Peninsula in 2023. Both promise to have a substantial impact on events in the coming year. After years of declining relations, South Korea took the initiative to mend ties with Japan by proposing a path for resolving the…

The war in Ukraine directly and indirectly impacted policy and perceptions on and around the Korean Peninsula, starting with Russia’s invasion in early 2022 and continuing apace in 2023. Although the war has provided Seoul the opportunity to enhance its contributions to global security, simultaneously it presents challenges that accelerate its security concerns closer to…