Foreign Relations

This chapter examines the nature and motivations of North Korea’s sharp power toward South Korea. Unlike China or Russia, to secure long-term survival, North Korea ultimately needs cooperation from the…

During his visit to Asia in November 2017, President Donald Trump announced his vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” as the U.S. approach to the region. The Department of…

The summit on February 27-28 in Hanoi between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un ended on a sour note, casting doubt on the one-year old diplomatic process that had produced an…

Since the first historic summit meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last June in Singapore yielded a two-page joint agreement without a clear definition…

South Korea, Japan, and the United States have pledged to deepen security cooperation in response to growing threats from North Korea. On June 11, the nations convened at a Trilateral Ministerial Meeting and issued a joint statement condemning North Korea’s provocative posture and reaffirming their commitment to nuclear non-proliferation. But this trilateral alignment repeats the…

Over the last half decade, the Korean Peninsula has seen the prospect of war during Donald Trump’s period of “fire and fury,” but also a period of negotiations that resulted in a series of North-South and U.S.-North Korea summits. While war was avoided, those efforts at negotiation ultimately failed. The aftermath of those failed negotiations,…

After more than two years since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has finally been detected in North Korea. Despite strict border controls limiting the movement of people and goods to prevent entry of the novel coronavirus, state media reported on 12 May that the Omicron BA.2 variant had been found in a sample taken…

On May 24, officials in Seoul announced that a one-star navy officer would accompany South Korea’s largest-ever fleet to the biannual U.S.-led maritime military exercise, known as the Rim of Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). The exercise intends to “ensure the safety of major sea lines of communications and improve combined capabilities” of U.S. partners in the…