[Commentary]
No Whiplash: Why Seoul’s Diplomacy Didn’t
Redirect After a Snap Election |
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Leif-Eric Easley, Professor at Ewha Womans University, examines the new Lee Jae Myung administration’s initial foreign policies and explains the calculation behind their continuity with the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. The author recommends that the Lee administration double down on trilateral cooperation with Washington and Tokyo and convince Beijing and Pyongyang of South Korea’s strategic value relative to Russia’s revisionism. |
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[Commentary] Imposed Challenges on the ROK-U.S. Alliance: Alliance Transformation under the Trump 2.0. Administration for Balancing China |
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Won Gon Park, Chair of EAI's North Korea Studies Center and Professor at Ewha Womans University, outlines how the Trump administration is creating a strategic linkage between economics and security—through tariffs, defense cost-sharing, and alliance restructuring—to contain China. The author underscores the strategic choices Seoul must confront in navigating a more transactional alliance framework as the U.S. increasingly focuses on Japan, the Philippines, and Australia in Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy. |
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[Commentary] North Korea's Strategic Culture and “Two Hostile States” Doctrine |
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Hyeongjung Park, Independent Researcher on North Korean Affairs, analyzes North Korea’s strategic culture to examine its “Two Hostile States” doctrine. By examining North Korea's fundamental reliance on hard realpolitik, Dr. Park provides a nuanced explanation of how Pyongyang strategically justifies aggressive military posturing as defensive measures as well as how the “Two Hostile States” doctrine functions as a “stonewalling” strategy that halts interactions with South Korea. |
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[Commentary] Who Are We Meeting? Challenges after the Deregulation of Contact with North Korean Residents |
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Seunghee Ha, a Research Professor at the Institute of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, analyzes the implications of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s deregulation of contact between South and North Korean residents. The abolition of the de facto permit system is likely to revitalize civilian exchanges, contributing to trust and coexistence between the two Koreas. However, since the current Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation law is still subject to ambiguity and arbitrary interpretations, Professor Ha recommends that the government specify the legal standards and procedures for contact and raise public awareness. |
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