Global NK Zoom & Connect has met with leading South Korean researchers who study North Korea and listened to their voices to understand current research on North Korea. For this issue, we met Sang Hyun Lee, President of the Sejong Institute, which has been closely analyzing the changing security environment and suggested alternatives to contribute to the development of the Korean society. He shared with us his insight on the prospects of Korea's unification. Through the interview, the Editor was impressed by the commitment and role that this private think tank has demonstrated to improve the quality of domestic research while making outstanding achievements in the fields of unification, diplomacy, and area studies.

■ Sang Hyun Lee graduated from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University and received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He currently serves as the President of Sejong Institute and leads the Center for American Studies. He is also the President of the Korean Nuclear Policy Society (KNPS), on the board of directors of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM-K), a member of the National Security Panel for the East Asia Institute, and a member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (APLN). He was formerly a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, and Director-General for Policy Planning for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also a visiting scholar at Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) in Stockholm, Sweden, and Stimson Center in Washington D.C. His recent publications include New International Order and South Korea’s Diplomatic Strategy (2021, co-authored), New Diplomatic and Security Equation: Network Competition and Strategic Culture (2020, co-authored), National Identity and Korea-China-Japan Relations (2020, co-authored), The U.S.-China Hegemonic Competition and the Korean Peninsula (2020), “The Trump Administration’s Nuclear Policy: Implication for the International Non-Proliferation Regime and the North Korean Nuclear Issue” (2019), Understanding Modern ROK-U.S. Relations (2019, co-author), “The Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy (NSS): Implication for International Politics and the Korean Peninsula,” (2018), Peace and Prosperity on the Korean Peninsula: Realizing Peace and International Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula (2018, co-authored), New U.S. Government and the ROK-U.S. Relations (2017, co-authored), Examining the First Five Years of Kim Jong Un Regime (2017, co-authored), and Changes in the International Order in Northeast Asia and Our Strategies (2017, co-authored).