[뉴스] The most significant ambassador jobs in Trump’s second term

...highest-profile ambassador jobs — but many of the most significant ones are still to come. While several foreign posts are important in any administration because the country is a close U.S. ally or a neighbor to an adversary, some ambassadorial jobs will take on heightened significance in Trump’s second term because of the incoming president’s existing relationship with — or comments about — the country.

[뉴스] North Korean Spies Are Infiltrating U.S. Companies Through IT Jobs Companies are unknowingly hiring North Koreans for hundreds of low-level jobs, giving Pyongyang access to cash and IP

WASHINGTON—When cybersecurity company KnowBe4 was filling a remote IT job in July, it hired a highly skilled applicant who gave his name as Kyle and spoke accented English. He asked the company to ship his company laptop to an address in Washington state.

[뉴스] The ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Overhyped

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in July, longtime U.S. intelligence official John McLaughlin described the threat posed by China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia as “the distinguishing characteristic of our world right now.” McLaughlin, the former acting director of the CIA, warned that the United States’ adversaries had “formed a group” and were increasingly cooperating against Washington and...

[뉴스] Friday Briefing: Will North Korea Attack?

Watching North Korea for signs of lethal military action North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, could take some form of lethal military action against South Korea in the coming months after having shifted his policy to one of open hostility, U.S. officials say.

[정치/군사] 한국의 핵안보 프로젝트 2

...때이고, 다른 하나는 중국의 대만침공 시점에 북한이 전술핵무기를 사용했을 때이다. 보고서는 두 가지 상황 모두에서 핵전쟁을 우려한 미국이 북한에 핵보복을 하지 않는다고 결론을 내렸다. 곧이어 주한미군을 1만 명 수준으로 감축해야 한다고 주장하는 「미국의 이익에 부합하는 글로벌 군사 태세(Aligning Global Military Posture with U.S. interests)」라는 보고서가 기사화되었다. 이 보고서의 핵심은 대만 유사시 주한미군이 신속히 투입될 수 있어야 하며, 중국과 북한의 선제타격에 노출되지 않도록 주한미군을 감축해서 일본이나 괌으로 재배치해야 한다는 것이다. 그런데 보고서 작성자 중 한 명은 2월 25일 Foreign Affairs에 기고한 논문인 “대만 집착: 미국의 전략은 이길...

[정치/군사] Nuclear North Korea

Victor D. Cha and David C. Kang’s Nuclear North Korea was first published in 2003 amid the outbreak of a lasting crisis over the North Korean nuclear program. It promptly became a landmark of an ongoing debate in academic and policy circles about whether to engage or contain North Korea. Fifteen years later, as North Korea tests intercontinental ballistic missiles and the U.S. president angrily refers to...

[학술논문] Opening Pandora's Box: Is South Korea's Nuclearization Feasible and Desirable?

...prominent in contemporary South Korean politics, driven by security concerns toward North Korea's nuclear development and the credibility of U.S. extended nuclear deterrence. The Trump 2.0 Presidency has further heightened the debate, with advocates claiming strategic opportunities and necessities for South Korea's nuclear independence. This article examines the debate, evaluating the feasibility and desirability...

[학술논문] South Korea-United States Relations in 2025: Lee Adjusts to Trump as the U.S.-China Conflict Deepens

...Korea-U.S. relations in 2025 continued to be influenced by the deepening conflict between China and the U.S. Xi Jinping's "New Era" policies drive inter-related military and economic threats to both South Korea and the U.S. Largely in reaction, Donald Trump has intensified his first-term effort both to confront China's threats and to use trade and other policies to re-industrialize the U.S. economy...

[학술논문] Why Has Inter-Korean Climate Cooperation Failed?

...sustained coop-eration on the Korean Peninsula. Externally, international sanctions and the U.S.-China strategic rivalry have restricted the scope for joint engagement, fragmenting the multi-lateral climate governance structure and incorporating the two Koreas into divergent normative blocs. Internally, North Korea’s instrumental use of the climate agenda for regime legitimacy, combined with its institutional...

[학술논문] ROK Diplomacy: Navigating Uncharted Waters The Historic Significance of the Cheonan Incident for ROK Foreign Policy

...changing balance among the major powers. The ROK’s diplomacy over the incident not only reflected such contemporary international circumstances but also epitomized President Lee Myung-bak’s leadership style as well as the goals and resources of his nation. The Lee administration’s diplomatic characteristics include: a) foremost priority on the ROK-U.S. alliance; b) principled approach; c) realism and...

[학술논문] 동북아시아의 초국가적 정체성과 질서

...for an East Asian community; 2) the duality present in the Six-Party Talks of five states facing the challenge of North Korea plus the broader grouping inclusive of the North; and 3) the image of a U.S.-led Asia-Pacific community. In order to explore prospects for each of these communities, the article surveys the multiple ways value differences shape relations in Northeast Asia. Given suspicions...

[해외] A blueprint for a US-South Korea combined multi-domain task force

...the alliance’s focus should expand beyond the peninsula to contribute to deterrent efforts along the First Island Chain. As the US and ROK Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs agreed this past November: “combined deterrence extends beyond the Korean Peninsula and contributes to regional deterrence.” This is especially important in the context of deterring potential aggression by the People’s Republic of China...

[해외] Building a Robust U.S.-ROK Cyber Alliance

This report, Building a Robust U.S.-ROK Cyber Alliance: A Joint Cyber Resilience Strategy, examines how the United States and South Korea can strengthen bilateral cyber cooperation in response to an increasingly complex and transnational threat environment. As cyber operations from North Korea, China, and Russia grow in scale and sophistication, the report argues that existing approaches are insufficient...

[해외] China is confronting new realities on the Korean Peninsula

...converged, including North Korea’s further consolidation of its nuclear status after the Ninth Party Congress, the further deepening of Russia-North Korea ties, intensifying U.S.-China competition, the growing institutionalization of U.S.-Japan-South Korean trilateral coordination, and the spillover effects of conflict in the Middle East. For that reason, China’s policy thinking does not begin with...

[해외] North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs

...decade, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) has advanced its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, which has raised the threat Pyongyang poses to the U.S. homeland, U.S. allies in East Asia, and U.S. interests. In April 2026, a U.S. defense official testified that "North Korea's nuclear forces are increasingly capable of targeting the U.S. Homeland, and its missile...

[해외] Should Japan change its approach to North Korean denuclearization?

...U.S.-North Korea dialogue could create an opportunity to reopen talks, this too presents significant challenges. Simultaneously, declining Japan-China relations in the previous year have further complicated the Northeast Asian security environment. In response, Japan has pursued a dual strategy toward the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia: enhancing integrated deterrence through the Japan-U.S....