South Korea
Featured Publications
Will South Korea’s New ‘Unification Doctrine’ Succeed Where Past Polices Have Failed?
South Korea’s only official policy regarding unification with North Korea is the "Three-Stage National Community Unification Formula" (hereafter “Unification Formula”), first declared by the Roh Tae-woo administration in 1989 and partially revised by the Kim Young-sam administration in 1994. However, the Korean Peninsula has changed drastically for the worse in recent years, and achieving “reconciliation and cooperation,” the first part of the three-stage formula, has become unrealistic.
How Northeast Asian Geopolitics Impact Peace on the Korean Peninsula
Amid today’s renewed great power competition, the Korean Peninsula has entered a new Cold War winter without having enjoyed the spring of the previous post-Cold War era. During the post-Cold War period, the South Korean and U.S. governments anticipated that the seismic changes occurring in Europe would be replicated on the Korean Peninsula. However, over the past 30 years, none of their main policy goals regarding North Korea — such as reform and opening, denuclearization, peace settlement and unification — were fulfilled due to several factors in Northeast Asian geopolitics that favored the status quo. The enduring nature of these factors means the United States and South Korea should adjust their North Korea strategy and goals to enhance peace and security on the Korean Peninsula more effectively.
Expanding the Scope of U.S.-Vietnam Reconciliation
Last September, Vietnam and the United States upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership — a historic development that has analysts, academics and high-level officials from both sides now pondering the question of “What’s next?” Part of the answer might be an expansion of Vietnam-U.S. postwar reconciliation.
Current Projects
NATO and Indo-Pacific Partners: Understanding Views and Interests
To increase understanding of these changes and their impacts, USIP convened an expert study group consisting of experts from NATO countries and from NATO’s formal partner countries in the Indo-Pacific: Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, which are informally known as the Indo-Pacific Four (or IP4).
Pursuing Peaceful Coexistence with North Korea: An Essay Series
This ongoing USIP essays series explores how the countries involved in the Korean Peninsula can tangibly and realistically reduce risks and improve relations within a reality where North Korea possesses nuclear weapons and will not denuclearize in the foreseeable future. In other words, how can the United States and South Korea peacefully coexist with a nuclear North Korea?
Resolving Tensions Between South Korea and Japan: An Essay Series
South Korea and Japan normalized relations in 1965, but unresolved historical disputes continue to undermine genuine bilateral reconciliation and optimal diplomatic, security and economic cooperation. Past efforts, both between the two countries and trilaterally with the United States, to help improve relations have generally emphasized a “future-oriented” approach that focused on common security and economic interests.