Yang Gyu Kim, Principal Researcher at EAI and Lecturer at Seoul National University, challenges the assumptions that nuclear weapons are essential for South Korea’s security and that even a small nuclear arsenal could effectively counter North Korea’s advancing nuclear threat. Drawing on historical lessons from the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms race...

Young-Sun Ha, Chairman of the East Asia Institute and Emeritus Professor at Seoul National University, critically analyzes North Korea's nuclear development, its military support for Russia, and the deteriorating ties with China as key miscalculations of 2024 that intensify the Kim regime's crisis. He argues that these errors, compounded by economi...

Cheng-Chwee Kuik, a professor at the National University of Malaysia, notes that while a second Trump administration’s foreign policy is likely to adopt a transactional approach and distance itself from multilateralism, its impact on allies and partner states in Asia could differ substantially. He identifies ASEAN countries' commitment to neutral...

Andrew Yeo, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, outlines the potential opportunities and challenges in U.S.-DPRK relations under a second Trump administration. Yeo notes that Trump might engage more willingly in dialogue with Kim Jong Un, driven by a desire to establish his legacy by resolving the North Korean issue. In this regard, Yeo w...

Kyungmo Ahn, a professor at the Korean National Defense University, argues that North Korea has shifted its strategy from bandwagoning for threat mitigation to an "internal balancing strategy" centered on military self-reliance and nuclear development. He contends that this shift presents an unprecedented opportunity for the Kim regime, reinforced ...

Jaewoo Jun, an associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, observes that the recent partnership between North Korea and Russia reflects both nations' attempts to reduce their asymmetric dependence on China. He also notes that Beijing has adopted a notably more passive stance toward this relationship compared to the past. ...

Gu Ho Eom, a professor at Hanyang University, assesses that while the consolidation of a North Korea-China-Russia partnership may temporarily appear to be strengthening, the structural deficiencies in each bilateral relations within the triangle render it unlikely for the trilateral alliance to institutionalize beyond a level allowing for micro-lev...

Andrew Yeo, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, emphasizes that despite Trump's unconventional views on alliances, many GOP members continue to strongly value these partnerships, suggesting that his perspective alone will not dictate the future of U.S. foreign policy. Yeo also points out the inherent paradox between Trump’s "peace throu...

Won Gon Park, the Chair of EAI North Korea Studies Center, explains that while there has been growing discussion about a potential "sudden change" in North Korea, fueled by an increase in elite defections and stricter party discipline, they do not signal an imminent regime collapse. Highlighting the limited scale and intensity of unrest among the e...

Ho Ryung Lee, Director of the Center for Security and Strategy at KIDA, explains that North Korea’s recent military actions are aimed at delineating the inter-Korean border, rather than introducing territorial amendments or removing “unification” from the constitution. Lee assesses that such decision is an effort to reinforce the border while...