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[JOURNAL] Kamala Harris‘s Real Opportunity for Progress With North Korea by Prof. Seong-ho Sheen, Dean of SNU GSIS
Kamala Harris's Real Opportunity for Progress With North Korea | The National Interest While Harris should not “cozy up” to Kim Jong-un, she will need to negotiate a meaningful deal on North Korea’s denuclearization. A successful policy will require balancing pressure and engagement, ensuring regional security through military and diplomatic means, addressing humanitarian issues, and maintaining strong alliances. The latest presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump revealed little about their North Korean policies or U.S. foreign policy in general. Much of the debate was consumed by personal attacks and domestic issues. Harris barely mentioned North Korea except to criticize Trump for his love letter exchanges with Kim Jong-un. In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Harris vowed not to cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim, signaling a tough stance if she became president. Her rhetoric, while possibly aimed at bolstering her image as strong on foreign policy, falls in line with the traditional U.S. stance championed by Joe Biden. During the debate, she largely reaffirmed Biden’s policies. Biden deserves credit for restoring U.S. leadership in managing alliances, responding to unprovoked aggression, and emphasizing the rule-based international order that Trump undermined. A return to a familiar U.S. foreign policy approach seems both safe and sensible. Biden has done excellent work in strengthening the U.S. alliance with South Korea and advancing the trilateral partnership between Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo to longstanding U.S. policy in the region. However, North Korea remains a central challenge for U.S. policy in Northeast Asia. With Kim’s regime continuing its nuclear weapons program and advancing ballistic missile capabilities, the new Harris administration will need a nuanced yet proactive approach to ensure regional stability and denuclearization. Although the Korean Peninsula has been relatively quiet in recent years, Harris will have strong reasons to engage with North Korea early in her term. First, she must maintain peace in the region. Inter-Korean relations have grown increasingly tense with Kim labeling South Korea as North Korea’s most dangerous and first enemy state and declaring that the two Koreas are in a state of war. North Korea has condemned the joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington and issued new nuclear guidelines meant to enhance deterrence. With wars already raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, Harris will need stability on the Korean Peninsula to focus on these conflicts. Any military skirmish, or worse, war, in the Korean peninsula, a global hub for trade and key supply chains, could trigger a global economic and security crisis. Second, North Korea’s ongoing nuclear development, if left unchecked, will soon pose a direct threat to U.S. national security. Trump’s attempt to make a big deal with Kim in Hanoi in 2019 turned out to be another grandstanding act by Trump and a huge humiliation for Kim. Since then, North Korea has intensified its military activities, conducting over fifty ballistic missile tests between 2022 and 2023 and conducting more in 2024. If North Korea completes its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability, it could target major U.S. cities as Kim has often vowed to do. Third, North Korea’s growing nuclear capabilities are placing pressure on South Korea to consider developing its own nuclear arsenal. Such a move could fracture the U.S.-South Korean alliance and destabilize regional security. Years of strategic patience and principled approach under the Obama and Biden administrations have effectively allowed North Korea’s nuclear capabilities to grow unchecked. Alarmingly, this year’s DNC platform did not even mention the denuclearization of North Korea. That is dangerous. Immediately after the presidential debate, North Korean state media released images of Kim inspecting the country’s weapons of mass destruction program, which suggested significant progress in its intercontinental ballistic missile and uranium enrichment efforts. This could be Pyongyang’s way of signaling that time is running out for Washington to act. North Korea’s economy is suffering from chronic mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions, and the recent flood could lead to another famine. Some desperate North Koreans reportedly prefer war with South Korea over continued suffering. Once in the White House, President Harris will need to navigate the complexities of diplomacy with Kim. While she should not “cozy up” to him, she will need to negotiate a meaningful deal on North Korea’s denuclearization. A successful policy will require balancing pressure and engagement, ensuring regional security through military and diplomatic means, addressing humanitarian issues, and maintaining strong alliances. By adopting a flexible and pragmatic approach, Harris could work toward achieving sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula. This could be Harris’s chance to make a real difference in global security, particularly in dealing with dictators like Kim. She could achieve what no previous U.S. president has, something that would undoubtedly make Trump envious.
2024-09-25
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[ASIA AND THE WORLD SEMINAR SERIES]
On May 27th, 2024, Asia and the World Seminar Series at the SNU Graduate School of International Studies invited Representative-elect Lee Jun-Seok, who spoke on the topic of the "Undeniable Future" of Korea. The lecture was held at the Auditorium of the SNU Cultural Center, with more than 150 students attending. The lecture was followed by an active Q&A session with participants, including students from GSIS and the larger SNU community.
2024-05-31
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[Toyota Program: Asia and the World Seminar Series]
On November 30th, 2023, the Asia and the World Seminar Series at the SNU Graduate School of International Studies invited Dr. Narushige Michishita, Executive Vice President/Professor and Director of the Global Leadership Development Program at the National Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), who spoke on the topic of “Japan’s New Security Strategy: Getting Committed to the Defense of Taiwan”. Dr. Michishita’s lecture was followed by a Q&A and discussion session with event participants, including students from GSIS and the larger SNU community. The Asia and the World Seminar Series at SNU GSIS is sponsored by Toyota Motor Korea.
2023-12-06
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[Toyota Program: Issues and Perspectives Seminar Series]
[Toyota Program: Issues and Perspectives Seminar Series] On November 23rd, 2023, the Issues and Perspectives Seminar Series at the SNU Graduate School of International Studies invited Professor Oriel Sullivan, Emerita Professor of Sociology of Gender and Co-Director of the Centre for Time Use Research at the Social Research Institute, University College London, who spoke on the topic of “The Gender Division of Household Labour and Care: A Time Use Perspective”. Professor Sullivan’s lecture was followed by a Q&A and discussion session with event participants, including students from GSIS and the larger SNU community. The Issues and Perspectives Seminar Series at SNU GSIS is sponsored by Toyota Motor Korea.
2023-12-06
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국제학연구소(IIA) Pacific Report 창간호 발간
안녕하세요, 서울대학교 국제학연구소입니다. 국제학연구소가 2023년부터 새롭게 선보이는 퍼시픽 리포트 (Pacific Report) 창간호가 발간되었습니다. 아모레퍼시픽재단의 후원으로 발간하게 된 퍼시픽 리포트는 국제 현안에 대한 전략적 이해를 심화하고, 한반도의 현실에 맞는 정책적 대안을 제시코자 합니다. 또한 21세기 한국의 위상에 맞는 중견국가로서의 나아갈 비전과 역할을 국제사회에 제대로 알리고자 합니다. 그 첫 발걸음으로, 퍼시픽 리포트 창간호에서는 인남식 국립외교원 아중동연구부장이 미·중 경쟁 속 사우디아라비아와 이란의 국교 복원의 지정학적 의미에 대해서 기고하였습니다. 국제학연구소와 퍼시픽 리포트에 대한 지속적인 관심과 지원을 부탁드립니다. Greetings from Institute of International Affairs. The inaugural issue of the Pacific Report, presented by the Institute of International Affairs(IIA) starting from 2023, has been published. The Pacific Report, sponsored by the Amore-Pacific Foundation, aims to deepen strategic understanding of international issues and propose policy alternatives that reflect the reality of the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, the report seeks to present Korea's vision and role as a middle power that matches its status in the international community in the 21st century. In the first inaugural issue of the Pacific Report, Nam-sik In, the Director-General of the Department of African and Middle Eastern Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, contributed an article on the geopolitical significance of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran amid the U.S.-China competition. We kindly request your continuous interest and support for the IIA and the Pacific Report. Download Link: https://iia.snu.ac.kr/publications/pacific
2023-05-08
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[Asia and the World] Conference on US-China Competition and Economic Security in the Indo-Pacific
지난 11월 4일, 서울대학교 국제대학원 “아시아와 세계“ 프로그램은 "US-China Competition and Economic Security in the Indo-Pacific"을 주제로 국내외 전문가들의 연구발표 및 라운드테이블을 진행하였습니다. 이번 국제컨퍼런스에는 서울대 국제대학원 연구진을 비롯하여 사투 리마예 미국 동서센터 부소장님, 리차드 빗징거 전 미국 아태안보연구센터 교수님, 유명희 전 산업통상자원부 통상교섭본부장님이 참석하여 미중 경쟁과 경제안보 이슈에 대한 연구결과와 의견을 공유하였습니다.
2022-11-09
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[Toyota IP Seminar] Contemporary Challenges to the Universal and European Human Rights System - a View from Eastern Europe
[Toyota IP Seminar] Contemporary challenges to the universal and European human rights systems - a view from Eastern Europe On October 13th, the Issues and Perspectives Seminar Series at the SNU Graduate School of International Studies invited Mr. Michał Balcerzak, the Vice-President of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, to speak on "Contemporary challenges to the universal and European human rights systems - a view from Eastern Europe." Mr. Balcerzak gave a lecture followed by questions and discussions with GSIS students. Issues and Perspectives Seminar Series are a part of the Asia and the World program at SNU GSIS sponsored by Toyota Motor Korea.
2022-11-09
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US Economic Statecraft at a Time of Rising Global Risk_Senior Vice President from Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)_Matthew Goodman
Mr. Goodman spoke about the changing economic landscape and major geoeconomic risks such as slowing growth, debt distress, rising inflation, supply chain security and disruptions, and well as tensions between the United States and China. CSIS Senior Vice President Matthew Goodman, a former U.S. official at the White House and Treasury, offered thoughts on these developments and welcome reactions and insights from SNU students.
2022-11-02
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