by Korea Economic Institute
The Korea Economic Institute of America is pleased to present Eye on Korea, a program designed to provide expert analysis on the most pressing issues shaping US-Korea relations. [KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.]
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Publishing Since
1/27/2025
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June 18, 2026
Xi Jinping just spent two days in Pyongyang, his first trip to North Korea in nearly seven years, and the message was hard to miss. China is reinvesting in a relationship it had let cool, and the military side of that reinvestment is exactly what should worry Washington and Seoul. Youngjun Kim of the Korea National Defense University joins us to unpack these developments. The episode begins with the summit itself and what Xi and Kim actually signaled to one another, then gets into whether warmer ties could eventually produce something as concrete as joint China-North Korea military exercises. Kim walks through North Korea’s long habit of hedging between China and Russia, why North Korea’s deepening partnership with Russia complicates that balancing act, and how the so-called axis of upheaval is starting to chip away at U.S. primacy across the Indo-Pacific. Kim lays out North Korea’s growing uranium stockpile and what it means for the nuclear picture, why intelligence-sharing among U.S. allies has stopped being optional, and where South Korea fits in the region’s security architecture. He argues that China is too powerful for South Korea not to continue building its own defenses, weighs whether South Korean nuclear-powered submarines are really aimed at China rather than North Korea, and closes on the commercial side of the partnership and the issue of OPCON transition. Youngjun Kim is Dean and Professor at the Korea National Defense University’s School of Strategic Studies, a Non-Resident Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research, a member of the ROK-US Nuclear Energy Cooperation Advisory Board, and Vice President of the Korea Nuclear Policy Society. [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
June 9, 2026
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg returns to Eye on Korea, making the case that South Korea has become a legitimate middle power with one of the fastest-growing defense-industrial bases, growing its reach from Africa to the Middle East while recalibrating the U.S.-South Korea alliance at the center of its security posture. Ambassador Goldberg traces how pragmatism has come to define the Lee Jae Myung administration’s outreach to Japan and policies toward the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Along with KEI President and CEO Scott Snyder, Ambassador Goldberg discusses South Korea’s interpretation of the Iran war, its ambiguity regarding a Taiwan contingency, and its read on a Trump trade policy Goldberg calls “extortionist.” The episode also digs into the harder questions, including whether a seventy-year-old U.S. nuclear guarantee still carries the same weight, what the recent Xi Jinping-Kim Jong Un meeting in Pyongyang signals for a future Trump-Kim summit, and why OPCON transfer keeps slipping, a delay Goldberg argues is driven more by the military than by politics. Philip Goldberg served as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from 2022 to 2025. Over a decades-long diplomatic career, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, the Philippines, and Bolivia; as Chief of Mission in Pristina, Kosovo; as Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research; and as the coordinator for implementing U.N. sanctions on North Korea. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the American negotiating team at the Dayton Peace Conference, serving as chief of staff for the U.S. delegation. Ambassador Goldberg has received numerous honors, including Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Service Awards and the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award. Like and subscribe to the Korea Economic Institute of America on YouTube for more U.S.-South Korea news, analysis, politics and more! Social Links: Website: https://keia.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/korea-economic-institute-of-america/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KoreaEconInstitute/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koreaeconinst/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/koreaeconinst [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
May 13, 2026
Wartime operational control, or OPCON, should have been transferred from U.S. to South Korean forces. That is the case Ambassador Joseph Yun makes on Eye on Korea—South Korea must take primary responsibility for conventional warfare on the peninsula, and the alliance may be overdue for rebalancing. Ambassador Yun served as acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from January to October 2025, capping a three-decade career in the Department of State that spanned major chapters of the U.S.-South Korea relationship. He joins Eye on Korea for a wide-ranging conversation on OPCON, alliance modernization, the Lee Jae Myung administration, and the future of South Korea as a middle power. We also cover:🔹 How the alliance is managing the back-to-back transitions from Joe Biden to Donald Trump in Washington and Yoon Suk Yeol to Lee Jae Myung in Seoul🔹 Why the rule of law and due process are a “key point” of the U.S.-South Korea relationship, embedded in shared democratic values🔹 Why form and process lead to substance—and how that principle runs through all aspects of alliance management🔹 The economic dimension of the U.S.-South Korea relationship and why the tariff shock landed less hard in Seoul than elsewhere🔹 The key differences between the Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae Myung administrations, and the interplay between progressivism and pragmatism🔹 The factions inside South Korean domestic politics and what they signal for foreign policy🔹 Why North Korea will not denuclearize, and whether a different approach, such as arms control, is now more fit for purpose🔹 Optimal balancing between regional players, such as China, for South Korea’s long-term position🔹 Whether the United States is still a benign hegemon or has become a more isolationist, transactional leader—and what each outcome means for the alliance and the Indo-Pacific🔹 Alliance modernization, including strategic flexibility, nuclear-powered submarines, and relations with Japan🔹 The future of Korea as a middle power in the twenty-first century Ambassador Joseph Yun served as acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from January to October 2025. During his three-decade-plus career at the Department of State, Joe served in Korea-focused roles on multiple occasions, including as U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy during the first Trump administration. He was also U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, among many other roles. Like and subscribe to the Korea Economic Institute of America on YouTube for more U.S.-South Korea news, analysis, politics and more! Social Links: Website: https://keia.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/korea-economic-institute-of-america/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KoreaEconInstitute/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koreaeconinst/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/koreaeconinst [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
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Bruce Klingner
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Jeannette Chu
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Tami Overby
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Matthew P Goodman
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Scott Snyder
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Rachel Minyoung Lee
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Zack Cooper
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Dr Hyo-young Lee
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Michael Beeman
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Dr John Blaxland
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Philip Goldberg
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The Korea Economic Institute of America is pleased to present Eye on Korea, a program designed to provide expert analysis on the most pressing issues shaping US-Korea relations.
[KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.]
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