Country Report: South Korea (February 2024)

South Korea and the United States have decided to begin negotiation this year to conclude the 12th Special Defense Cost-Sharing Agreement (SMA), which will take effect from 2026. […]

Country Report: South Korea (October 2023)

The evolving dynamics in South Korea’s geopolitical landscape, characterized by diplomatic intricacies, defense concerns, and cultural influence, undeniably underscore the nation’s multifaceted role in the global arena. The […]

Country Report: Japan (September 2023)

Despite the supposed dog days of August, the summer news from Japan proved quite riveting. In July and August, alarm only heightened over the challenging security environment Japan […]

A Perspective from the United States

The first ever stand-alone leader-level summit at Camp David between President Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea, marks the latest […]

A Perspective from Japan

A Historic Trilateral Step in a Journey of Many Kilometers? Japan’s political leaders and strategic thinkers welcome significant advancement in trilateral strategic cooperation with the US and ROK, […]

A Perspective from China and Russia

Three commentaries matter most in the aftermath of August’s Camp David trilateral summit of the United States, Japan, and South Korea. What the three participants say, of course, […]

Country Report: Japan (March 2023)

The winter of 2023 saw Kishida Fumio make a celebrated visit to Washington, while clarifying the new security strategy of Japan in the face of dangers from China, […]

Country Report: South Korea (December 2022)

In the months of November and December, as in previous months, Pyongyang continued its missile salvo firing 25 ballistic missiles in 12 rounds, amounting to a total of […]

Tracking the Downswings in a ‘Virtual Alliance’: Japan’s Policy toward the Korean Peninsula over a Decade

This year, 2022, could be critical for Japan-ROK relations. The relationship has been in free fall for a decade—although there were a couple of moments at which the […]

Introduction

The period 2013-2015 in South Korean foreign policy was transformative for three reasons: (1) it exposed the fallacies in Seoul’s assumptions about the future of Northeast Asia more […]