Won Gon Park, Chair of the EAI Center for North Korea Studies (Professor at Ewha Womans University), analyzes the strategic implications the recent U.S.-Iran War poses for the Kim Jong Un regime. He characterizes the war as a "preventive war" executed before Iran could complete its nuclear arsenal, arguing that President Trump's unpredictability se...

Kyung-young Chung, President of the Korea Unification International Working Group, evaluates catastrophic outcomes by exploring scenarios of both a North Korean nuclear preemptive strike and a U.S. preemptive attack against North Korea. The author warns that whichever side launches a preemptive strike, it will not end in a unilateral victory but wi...

Ho Ryung Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, evaluates North Korea's 9th Party Congress, noting that Pyongyang has shifted to a "two hostile states" system that prioritizes regime survival and anti-South hostility over economic growth. The author analyzes that this strategic pivot aims to consolidate internal un...

Won Gon Park, Chair of EAI’s North Korea Studies Center (Professor at Ewha Womans University), analyzes the strategic shift in the 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS), which now prioritizes the defense of the U.S. homeland and pragmatic national interests above all others. Chair Park points out the dramatic changes in the security environme...

Hyeong Jung Park, an independent researcher on North Korea, analyzes the broader structural context of North Korea's 9th Party Congress and its strategy for establishing a permanent hostile coexistence between the two Koreas. The author explains that North Korea's nuclear capabilities have evolved from a mere security measure into the core of its r...

In-hwi Park, Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University, analyzes the potential impact of the recent U.S. airstrike on Iran on North Korea-U.S. relations and the Korean Peninsula. The author presents two scenarios regarding North Korea's reaction to the Middle East crisis: either clinging more fiercely to its nuc...

Dong Ryul Lee, EAI Senior Fellow (Professor at Dongduk Women's University), provides an in-depth analysis of the evolution of China’s strategy toward the U.S. in 2026, which seeks “stable coexistence” on an equal footing based on the perception of a structural decline in U.S. hegemony. The author predicts that China will move beyond its passi...

Won Gon Park, Chair of EAI Center for North Korean Studies (Professor at Ewha Womans University), analyzes the situation surrounding the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro, pointing out that the U.S. is shifting toward a 'leadership change' strategy that maintains the existing regime but precisely targets and removes only anti-American leaders. ...

Jihwan Hwang, Professor at the University of Seoul, analyzes that the Trump administration’s second-term National Security Strategy (NSS) and National Defense Strategy (NDS) reflect the “Donroe Doctrine,” which prioritizes the Western Hemisphere while reducing engagement in the Indo-Pacific. The author projects that as the U.S. seeks “decen...

Leif-Eric EASLEY (Professor, Ewha Womans University) explores the significance of the individual level of analysis in international relations, particularly concerning the potential restart of summits with North Korea. The author outlines twelve categories of leader-specific variables, such as personal characteristics and political ideology, to exam...