Country Report: South Korea (August 2022)
In July and August, the strategic dilemma of South Korea in navigating the contest between the US and China was put into sharp relief by the ratcheted-up military […]
Country Reports
South Korea
Country Report: South Korea (June 2022)
Country Report: South Korea (May & June 2022) Munkyoung Shin and Jung Seyoon President Yoon Suk-yeol’s first two months in office gave a glimpse of South Korea’s shift […]
Country Report: South Korea (April 2022)
Country Report: South Korea (March & April 2022) Shin Munkyoung and Jung Seyoon The outcome of South Korea’s presidential election in which the conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol won […]
China
Country Report: China (July 2022)
In mid-2022, Chinese analysts reflected on Sino–US relations under the Biden administration, prospects for improvement, and whether the two countries are entering a “new Cold War.” While largely […]
Japan
Country Report: Japan (July 2022)
The year 2022 has unfolded strikingly differently from Japanese expectations. Although already in retirement, Abe Shinzo had set the agenda that was expected to prevail. This included not […]
Russia
Country Report: Russia (July 2022)
The shadow of the Ukraine war loomed large over Russian writings on East Asia, whether China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, or the BRICS. China’s success versus the US […]
Country Report: Russia (March 2022)
February 4 and February 24 stand as watershed moments in Russian coverage of relations with China, with spinoffs for discussions of India and Japan. In January, there was […]
Country Report: Russia (May 2022)
The February 4, 2022 joint statement of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping launched a new phase in Sino-Russian relations, which acquired clear meaning when Russia went to war […]
ASAN PLENUM 2019
OPEN FORUM
Explaining Japan’s About-Face on Russia
The Kishida-Biden and Quad summits of May 23-24, 2022 showcased not only Biden’s determination to turn the Ukraine war into a catalyst for a more vigorous US policy […]
Hakamada Shigeki
Stepping Up to the Challenge and Embracing Pragmatism: Two Visions of Foreign Policy in the South Korean Presidential Election of 2022
The South Korean presidential election is only days away and, unlike past elections, the outcome is difficult to predict. There is, however, one thing that we can be […]
J. James Kim
National Commentaries
“South Korea’s High Stakes Diplomacy, 2016-2019”
United States
National Commentary: The United States The prevailing attitude in the DC think tank community is that rarely has such a consequential presidential visit to Asia occurred. Three takeaways […]
Editorial Staff
South Korea
On the one hand, the Biden visit to Seoul drew praise for Yoon Suk-yeol in his inaugural summit on the world stage. He boosted the image of Seoul […]
Editorial Staff
Japan
US-Japan relations had been on the upswing under Abe, but various uncertainties lingered. Obama was considered too weak on China. Abe’s wooing of Putin and early antagonizing of […]
Editorial Staff