Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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Under President Moon Jae-in, South Korea has pursued closer ties with Southeast Asia and India through the New Southern Policy. How do Seoul’s priorities in the region converge with those of other actors?
But Seoul’s positioning is not all bad. As South Korea and other Asian countries step gingerly with one eye on the superpowers’ rivalry, there are also opportunities to be found.
The stakes for South Korean President Moon Jae-in could not have been higher when U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi in February 2019. The delicate relationship between Trump and Moon provides important context for their upcoming meeting on Thursday, April 11.
Will South Korea’s president be able to create peace with his quarrelsome northern neighbor, or will he stumble over economic weaknesses at home?
Whatever the outcome, the June 12 Trump-Kim summit will have major implications for the region’s security landscape.
A communiqué issued by Pyongyang and Seoul to de-escalate tensions could pave the way for improved inter-Korean relations. But the real negotiations are just beginning.
The new civil nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and South Korea will provide a legal basis to allow the interdependent nuclear industry partnership between the two countries to continue and expand.
Heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific, coupled with China’s adjustment of its regional security policy, has meant that the results of the U.S. rebalance to Asia are not as good now as they were two years ago.
Countries in the region should not allow territorial disputes and historical issues to get in the way of solving the shared problem of North Korea and its nuclear program.
Although tensions are mounting on the Korean peninsula, China is unlikely to fundamentally alter its North Korea policy.