Jihwan HWANG, Professor at the University of Seoul, points out that the threat perception shared by South Korea, the U.S., and Japan on North Korea isn't actually as symmetrical as their joint statements suggest. The author diagnoses that this asymmetry—with the U.S. treating North Korea as a negotiable variable while Japan viewing it as a second...

Leif-Eric EASLEY (Professor, Ewha Womans University) and Dabin CHOI (Graduate Student, Ewha Womans University) examine South Korea’s sovereign AI ambitions and assess the accompanying vulnerabilities within its cybersecurity posture. The authors argue that an absolutist push for a wholly indigenous AI stack risks amplifying exposure to sophistic...

Jaewoo JUN, Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), points out that the risks of entrapment and abandonment in South Korea's security discourse during the US-China competition are neither symmetrical nor mechanically balanced. The author critiques the "preemptive contribution" argument, emphasizing that while entrapment ...

Seunghee HA, a research professor at the Institute of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, points out that the recent debate over deleting the clause in the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act that treats overseas pro-North Korean group members as North Korean residents remains confined to the narrow issue of deregulation. The author h...

Youngsun JEON, Professor at Konkuk University, analyzes the changes in North Korea's national heritage protection policy and their underlying significance in the wake of the recent inscription of North Korea's Mount Kumgang on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The author explains that under Kim Jong-un, North Korea has broadened the scope of protecti...

Kyung-young CHUNG, Co-Chair of the Korea Unification International Working Group, presents the prospects for and strategies to advance the simultaneous peaceful unification of the two Koreas and of China and Taiwan, based on the theory of geopolitical linkage within a single theater of operations. The author warns that in this shared theater border...

Ho Ryung LEE, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), analyzes that the 2026 Iran War is strengthening the strategic alignment among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (CRINK), accelerating a structural shift in the existing global order. The author points out that amidst this structural change, North Korea is s...

Dong Ryul LEE, EAI Senior Fellow (Professor at Dongduk Women's University), analyzes President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea after a seven-year hiatus through the macro perspective of China's evolving global and U.S. strategies. The author explains that rather than focusing on the Korean Peninsula itself, China is seeking a new strategy to stab...

Recent works by Dr. Victor Cha in Foreign Affairs mark a major pivot in his view regarding East Asian security order. In "North Korea as It Is: The Case for a Cold Peace" (April 2026), Dr. Cha exhibits a stark departure from his previous position by arguing that the ROK-U.S. alliance must now "accept" a de facto nuclear North Korea and pursue a “...

Hyeong Jung PARK, Former Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, diagnoses that inter-Korean relations have entered a new long-term phase since 2018 as North Korea adopts the 'hostile two-state' narrative amid structural shifts in the Northeast Asian balance of power. The author analyzes that North Korea is exponenti...