On Monday, January 24, 2011, the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS will host a talk by Song Young-gil, Mayor of Incheon. Incheon is South Korea’s third largest metropolis and is a major international transport and business hub. The area of Incheon includes seven northwestern islands, including Yeonpyeong Island, the site of recent North-South hostilities.  Mayor Song will discuss the implications of the Yeonpyeong incident and reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula. For more information, click here.

The February 9, 2010 book-signing by Professor Narushige Michishita was regrettably cancelled due to inclement weather.

Professor Michishita has graciously provided the following articles which outline what he planned to cover in this session.

“2010 Robust Engagement” (The American Interest, Winter 2010)
“North Korea’s Coercive Attempt at US Reconciliation” (The Washington Quarterly, Oct. 2009)
“North Korea’s Military-Diplomatic Campaigns, 1966-2008″ (book flyer) read more …

In this Working Paper, Joel S. Wit, USKI Visiting Scholar and former State Department official, assesses North Korea’s nuclear future by discussing the four most probable scenarios.

Each scenario is analyzed according to a number of factors including the implications for: 1) U.S. political, security and other interests in the region; 2) the same interests for Japan and the Republic of Korea; 3) North Korea, particularly its security relations with the international community and domestic situation; 4) other key surrounding countries, particularly China; 5) peace and stability in Northeast Asia; and 6) the international non-proliferation regime.

Working Paper Series: Four Scenarios for a Nuclear North Korea

September 24, 2008

Venerable Pomnyun Sunmin and his delegation of North Korea experts came to SAIS to talk about the current situation in North Korea. His delegation was composed of experts from various institutions in South Korea and make up The Peace Foundation and Good Friends’ organizations. He brought a collection of experts on political, economic, unification, defense, and security matters.

Venerable Pomnyun began the evening describing the developing famine in North Korea and its differences from the famine that affected the country in the 1990s; the primary difference being that the famine had affected the lower echelons of the party. The famine has also created secondary affects in increase in petty crime and the development of a market system. The delegation then discussed the political situation and possible four scenarios as it relates to North Korea and its relations with the U.S. and South Korea that can come out of the current impasse. (Summary by Mike Yo, Korea Studies, SAIS). read more …

The third edition of the SAIS U.S.-Korea Yearbook chronicles important developments in North and South Korea that characterized their relations with their allies and enemies in 2008. Each chapter was written by SAIS students in the course, “The Two Koreas: Contemporary Research and Record,” in the fall of 2008. Their insights were based not only on extensive reading and study, but also on numerous interviews conducted with government officials, scholars, NGO workers, academics and private sector experts in both Washington and Seoul.

The Yearbook is divided into two parts: South Korea’s Foreign Relations and North Korea’s Foreign Relations. In the first part, student authors explore the dynamic foreign policy changes that were brought about by the Lee Myung-bak administration, and how these policies affected South Korean politics both at home and abroad. In the second part, student authors explore how shifting power dynamics both in the United States, as well as among the member states of the Six-Party Talks, affected North Korea’s foreign relations in 2008. read more …

2007 was a year of extraordinary “big deals” on the Korean peninsula. Following the difficult 2006 that saw North Korea testing its nuclear weapon and difficult negotiations over security and trade issues with Washington, the Republic of Korea (ROK) made remarkable diplomatic breakthroughs on many weighty issues. But these agreements face challenges of ratification or implementation, and much work remains to be done.

The 2nd Edition of the SAIS U.S.-Korea Yearbook covers principal developments, including these “big deals.” The Yearbook is the product of SAIS’s Fall 2007 course, “The Two Koreas: Contemporary Research and Record.” Each chapter was researched and written by SAIS students based on in-depth readings and study. Additionally, as a part of the course, students conducted field research in South Korea, interviewing numerous government officials, think tank scholars, NGO workers, academics and private sector experts.

The 2007 Yearbook is divided into four parts: U.S.-ROK Relations, U.S.-DPRK Relations, Korea in the Region and Korean Politics. read more …

As part of the new Korea program at SAIS, a course was also introduced for the fall semester 2006: “The Two Koreas: Contemporary Research and Record.” SAIS students researched current issues in U.S. relations with North and South Korea under the direction of David Straub, a former director of Korean affairs at the State Department. In addition to conducting numerous interviews of U.S. government officials and other experts on U.S.-Korean relations in Washington, D.C., the students traveled as a group to Seoul to receive briefings from and conduct interviews with Korean government officials, scholars, and politicians. This inaugural edition of the U.S.-Korea Yearbook, covering the chief security, economic, and cultural issues in relations between the U.S. and the two Koreas in calendar year 2006, is the product of their research.

Download the full 2006 U.S.-Korea Yearbook

read more …