THE KOREA SOCIETY

is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding, and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. Learn more about us here.

Outside Experts at the Society

Outside analysts and government officials quoted while speaking at The Korea Society.

 

11/17/21 
Panelists at The Korea Society’s Inaugural Policy Signature Event were quoted in an article in the South China Morning Post on the United States’ strategic position on Taiwan. Harry Harris, former admiral and ambassador to South Korea, remarked that “We need to be clear on what would happen if the PRC invaded Taiwan.” Retired Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift was quoted saying, “If you’re talking about a strategic competition, it’s dangerous to be ambiguous because someone will miscalculate somewhere.” And regarding security in the broader region, Retired UNC/CFC/USFK Commander General Robert Abrams said that “China is the principal driver of instability in the region as it attempts to revive the international rules-based order into something else.”

To read the full article click here


7/28/20 
South China Morning Post
 
Dr. Kim Woo Joo, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital and Korea’s Top Coronavirus expert, was quoted in the South China Morning Post during his appearance at a Korea Society program as he remarks on effective treatments for COVID-19, stating, “If everything goes well, I am hoping that the effectiveness of these drugs will be scientifically proven within three to four months.”

To read the full article click here


7/26/20 
Forbes
 
Glenn Morey, Co-director and Producer of ‘Side By Side’, a documentary on Korean adoptees, was mentioned in a Forbes article on his remarks at a virtual Korea Society event. Morey “noted that whether the adoptees struggled in life or were incredibly accomplished, even if they had families and wonderful lives, eventually they all talked about their adoption experiences in painful terms.”

To read the full article click here


4/26/20 
Sung-Yoon Lee, Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor in Korean Studies, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a recent speaker at the Korea Society's Kim Koo Professional Series was quoted in Bloomberg. Speaking about the possibility of Kim Jong Un's sister to take over in a contingency scenario, Professor Lee said, “The generals with the big guns have every interest in protecting their own power and they understand that power runs through the Kim family. [Kim Yo Jong] will be able to wield power through a mix of terror and promotions. She knows how to play the game.”

To read the full article click here


11/23/19 
South China Morning Post
 
An article of the South China Morning Post quotes Former USFK Commander General (ret) Vincent Brooks about the importance of America's Alliance with Korea and Japa, saying, “If there's doubt in the countries on China's periphery about the commitment of the United States, there's no question in my mind that it benefits China."

To read the full article click here


10/9/19 
South China Morning Post
 
A new article in the South China Morning Post by Jeong Ho Lee highlighted a Korea Society program featuring Yang Xiyu, the former director in the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Office for Korean Peninsula Issues. "The US and China must play equal roles in bringing about the removal of nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula and bringing peace to the region, a former top Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday. [Yang] also suggested Beijing would continue to cooperate with Washington on the North Korean nuclear issue despite rising US-China tensions, because it benefited the Chinese government to do so."

To read the full article click here


4/5/19 
HANKYOREH
 
Vincent Brooks, former commander of ROK-US Combined Forces Command was quoted in an article of the HANKYOREH. At a Korea Society program on April 3, Brook said, "North Korea needed to be able to see with its own eyes that funds were in place to aid its economic development, provided that it denuclearized."

To read the full article click here


3/1/19 
South China Morning Post: ASIA 
 
Joel Wit, project director of 38 North at the Stimson Center, was quoted in an article of the South China Morning Post. At a Korea Society program on March 1, Wit said, "There was progress made at the summit on a variety of issues, just not enough to reach a final agreement. Both leaders are invested in this process, and particularly Kim Jong Un. There's a real shift in North Korean policy, and he is trying to move down a different road."

To read the full article click here


3/1/19 
QUARTZ
 
Joel Wit, project director of 38 North at the Stimson Center, was quoted in an article of Quartz by Justin Rohrilch. "The aftermath of the summit could echo the 1985 summit in Reykjavik, Iceland between president Ronald Reagan and Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev...which also ended at an impasse but led to a nuclear treaty later..." Wit said duringa Korea Society program on March 1.

To read the full article click here


2/25/19 |
Los Angeles Times | 

“President Trump is renowned for his bold decision-making and negotiation skills,” the South Korean speaker, who heads the liberal Minjoo party, said two days after the meeting with Pelosi at the Korea Society. “It would be no exaggeration to say it was President Trump’s decisiveness and leadership … that brought about this remarkable change.”

Link to the original article, click here


12/20/18 |
Newsweek | 

"I tend to think that in many ways this is a historic opportunity, something that happens once in a generation," the University of Southern California's David Kang said Thursday during a conference hosted by the Korea Society. "Does the U.S. actually have a strategy to move forward, to take this ball and keep it rolling?"

Link to the original article, click here


12/7/18 |
Bloomberg | 

“It totally cuts Secretary of State Pompeo and the special representative, Steve Biegun, at the knees,” Jung Pak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said at the Korea Society event in New York on Thursday. “What is the incentive for North Korea to actually talk about the meat-and-potatoes of denuclearization with the special representative and with the secretary of state if the national security adviser has said nothing is happening so we have to go straight to the top?”

Link to the original article, click here


10/26/18 |
ASPI Suggests | 

The Ausrtralian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) recommends listening to The Korea Society's podcast about the US nuclear umbrella with Naval War College Professor Terence Roehrig. On its suggested listening page, the ASPI asks, "How effective is the US nuclear umbrella in Northeast Asia? The Korea Society focuses on South Korea and Japan and how they fit into America’s Asia strategy."

Link to the original article, click here


9/22/18 |
South China Morning Post: EAST ASIA | 

US ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris takes hard line on North’s nuclear program
During his keynote address at the Korea Society’s annual dinner at The Plaza in New York, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said that North Korea “now has the chance to lift itself out of its self-imposed poverty and isolation.”

To read the full article, click here


6/12/18 |
Bloomberg | 

Rep. Bera Says Premature to Talk Suspending Military Exercises
(Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) is the Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Study Group on Korea, of which The Korea Society is a partner organization.)

Rep. Ami Bera, vice ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, co-chair of the Congressional Study Group on Korea, and a Democrat from California, discusses President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power." (Corrects guest's membership title and committee.) (Source: Bloomberg)

To watch the video, click here


 

4/27/18 
Nikkei Asian Review
 
Inter-Korean summit offers hope for aid workers

"Because in principle, humanitarian aid should not be affected" by the sanctions, "but the reality is really a different one," Zellweger said on Wednesday at a Korea Society event here. She expressed hope that the summit would allow for South Korean nongovernmental organizations to restart work in the North.

To read the full article click here


4/12/18 
Nikkei Asian Review
 
Statements made by Moscow State Institute of International Relations Professor Anna Kireeva during a Korea Society event were quoted in a Nikkei Asian Review article titled, North Korean audience watches Trump's actions in Syria. Speaking about seeking a diplomatic resolution to the North Korean nuclear problem, Kireeva said, "Russia would like to play a role here, probably as well as China, kind of an intermediary in Korean matters. But a lot of this will depend on Russia-U.S. relations." North Korea would also favor a Russian presence, Kireeva argued, explaining that, "North Koreans have been particularly concerned that they do not want to be subordinate to China in political and security terms."

To read the full article click here


3/7/18 
South China Morning Post: ASIA 
 
Speaking from the stage at the Korea Society, Dr. John Park, the Korea working group director at Harvard University's Kennedy School, explained the significance of an upcoming Washington visit by two of South Korea's top envoys. The two are fresh off a trip from Pyongyang, where they met with leader Kim Jong Un. About this, Dr. Park said, "There were things discussed in secret [between South Korean envoy Chung and Kim Jong Un] that are only for US ears. That creates a lot of anticipation about what that might be. That’s the part that we’re waiting to potentially hear about, if that becomes a basis that’s sufficient for the US side to move forward in terms of talks.”

To read the full article click here


 

2/17/18
South China Morning Post

Speaking at The Korea Society on February 16th, Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow for Northeast Asia Bruce Klingner describes the strategic choice facing the leadership in Pyongyang as the Olympics draw to close.

To read the full article click here


11/19/17
The New York Times

In an interview conducted at The Korea Society in New York, Choo Mi-ae, leader of South Korea's majority Democratic Party, said that bilateral relations between the US and Korea improved after President Trump visited Korea in November. Explaining this positive change, Ms. Choo said, "I think it was because he was able to come and see for himself." Ms. Choo added that she hopes North Korea will participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and demonstrate a willingness to engage in diplomatic talks.

To read the full article click here