Foreign Relations

Both India’s and South Korea’s strategic choices are deeply influenced by the rapidly evolving Indo-Pacific construct, particularly amid a mounting U.S.-China rivalry. With India’s “Look/Act East” policy and South Korea’s…

The New Northern Policy, proclaimed by the South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok in September 2017, is designed to boost economic cooperation between Russia and South Korea. However, two…

This examination of the relations among these four governments assesses the ever-closer China-Russia relationship featuring stronger strategic alignment against the United States and its interests in many parts of the…

The Japanese government makes no secret of its intensifying security concerns. The Ministry of Defense’s most recent annual white paper includes the assessment that, “The security environment surrounding Japan has…

What Happened The Moon administration released a statement on March 9 explaining that it may join the U.S.-led Quad+ alliance in the Indo-Pacific in an effort to gain U.S. support on North Korea policy. On March 8, the United States and South Korea reached an agreement for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations on cost-sharing for U.S.…

Despite President Joe Biden’s previous description of Russia as an “opponent” and the regime of President Vladimir Putin as “KGB thugs”, it remains possible for Washington and Moscow to cooperate where strategic interests align. This was demonstrated by the extension of the New START Treaty, an agreement that was reached within days of the Biden…

Since its inauguration, the Biden Administration has faced a long list of pressing domestic and foreign policy issues and challenges to tackle. People wonder how high North Korea ranks on the list- probably not among the top five unless another round of provocation forces Washington to refocus attention back on Pyongyang. There have been the…

What Happened In a speech commemorating Korea’s declaration of independence from Japan in 1919, President Moon indicated his government's desire to improve ties with Japan. The speech reaffirmed Moon’s long-standing push to separate bilateral discussions on the legacy of Japan’s colonial occupation from talks on security and other future-oriented concerns. Moon also stated that improving relations with…