Challenges and Opportunities of the U.S. – R.O.K. Alliance in the Trump 2.0 Era

On Thursday, November 6, the Asia Policy Program and the Clements Center for National Security hosted Dr. Kim Sung Han for a talk on the challenges and opportunities facing the United States-South Korean alliance during President Trump’s second term.

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Dr. Sung-han Kim is Professor of International Relations at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS). He served as the ROK National Security Advisor in 2022-23 and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2012-13. In 2013-2014, Dr. Kim was the Chair of World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction). He also served as Director of Ilmin International Relations Institute, Korea University and Dean of GSIS from 2017 to 2021. Before then, he had been a professor from 1994 to 2007 at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade. He served as the President of the Korean National Committee of CSCAP (Council on Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific); Vice President of the Korean Association of International Studies; President of Korean Association of American Politics (KAAP); and Chairman of the Vision Council for the ROK-U.S. Security Policy Initiative. After the North Korean military attack to the Cheonan naval corvette in March 2010, he advised as a member of the Presidential Commission for National Security Review (May – August 2010) and the Presidential Commission for Defense Reform (July – December 2010). He received Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Texas at Austin in 1992. His recent contributed articles to scholarly journals include “Comprehensive Extended Deterrence with the ROK” “Denuclearizing North Korea: Time for Plan B?,” and “From Blood Alliance to Strategic Alliance.”

See Photos of the Event Here!