The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Korea Center and the Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS) hosted the 2023 US-ROK Policy Forum in advance of the April 26th US-ROK presidential summit. As President Joe Biden prepares to welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to Washington, D.C., we looked back over the past 70 years of US-ROK relations, assessing progress and previewing discussion topics likely to be at the forefront of President Yoon’s state visit.

Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the US-ROK alliance, the Korea Center and KAIS gathered US and South Korean experts to assess the key issues in the alliance. The first panel assessed the continuing geostrategic concerns facing the United States and South Korea, including US-China strategic competition and the implications for South Korea, the growing North Korea threat, how to improve US-South Korea-Japan trilateral relations, and the regional implications of the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war. The second panel went beyond security to offer insights into US-ROK cooperation on economic and trade issues.

The keynote address was delivered by Edgard D. Kagan, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council.

A luncheon reception followed the conference with an address by Ms. Seohyun Lee, North Korean defector and human rights advocate. Please click the word agenda above to see the full schedule for the event.