Inhwan Oh, Senior Research Fellow and Executive Director at EAI, discusses the role of the U.S. Congress in ROK-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation and North Korea policy, and its implications for the future of U.S. maritime hegemony and South Korea’s strategy. Dr. Oh observes that ROK-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation is constrained by U.S. legislations related to naval buildup and the shipbuilding industry. In response, the author contends that to overcome these legal and political constraints, a comprehensive diplomatic approach targeting the U.S. Congress is imperative. Through multifaceted engage...

Commentary

• Inhwan Oh
• September 29, 2025

Seungho Jung, an Associate Professor of the School of Northeast Asian Studies at Incheon National University, analyzes the possibility that livelihoods of the North Korean people have worsened despite overall economic growth. Professor Jung assesses that a surge in consumer prices and the regime’s strengthened control on the economy suggest that the economic conditions affecting livelihoods have not recovered to their pre-pandemic standard. However, because these difficulties are unlikely to bring about immediate cooperation with the South, the author recommends that the South Korean governm...

Commentary

• Seungho JUNG
• September 24, 2025

Kyung-young Chung, Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Hanyang University, addresses the modernization of the ROK-U.S. alliance in a transforming security environment. After assessing the current strategic background, Professor Chung identifies the alliance’s core areas for development. According to the author, the areas include the alliance’s vision, expansion of the alliance’s roles, USFK’s strategic flexibility, the ROK-U.S. wartime OPCON transfer, the challenge of the North Korean nuclear program, and South Korea’s increase in defense spending.

Commentary

• Kyung-young CHUNG
• September 19, 2025