Episodes
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Ms. Bonnie Glaser to discuss the relations between South Korea and China, the upcoming NATO summit in July, and the relationship between China and North Korea during the COVID lockdown.
Published 07/03/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Mr. Ankit Panda to discuss the recent North Korea's military spy satellite launch from the Sohae satellite launch site, North Korea's weapons development, and the 7th nuclear test.
Published 06/14/23
This bonus episode is from Georgetown University's Asian Studies Program Event on May 5th. Dr. Victor Cha is joined by special guest Mark B. Lambert, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State for a debrief on President Yoon’s State Visit to Washington and related policy discussion.
Published 05/19/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo to discuss the recent Biden-Yoon Summit from the European perspective, Yoon's policy regarding China, economic coercion, and North Korea. 
Published 05/15/23
In this episode, Victor Cha is joined by Jinmyung Kim, Washington correspondent for the Chosun Ilbo, to discuss the significance of Yoon's state visit and the takeaways on North Korean denuclearization and trilateral relations with the United States, Korea, and Japan.
Published 05/08/23
In a crossover episode with CSIS's The CommonHealth, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center at CSIS, to discuss an update on what we know, suspect, and do not know about North Korea still in extreme isolation from the rest of the world; the status of its Covid outbreak and response; the heightened risk of famine; and the burgeoning exchange of North Korean weapons and ammunition in return for Russian food and energy.
Published 04/24/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Ms. Jenny Town and Mr. Frank Aum to discuss the incentives versus pressure debate, rethink working theories around sanctions and China’s role in negotiations, and explore how North Korea is affected by its changing external security environment.
Published 04/03/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Dr. Soo Kim and Mr. Anthony Ruggiero to discuss sanctions on North Korea, the history of sanctions, how to measure its effectiveness, China’s reaction to sanctions and ultimately answer the question of whether sanctions really works on North Korea.
Published 03/07/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Ambassador Robert Joseph and Greg Scarlatoiu to discuss their recently released report for the National Institute for Public Policy regarding North Korea's current human rights situation, the Kim family regime, and the North Korean human rights movement ten years after the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK.
Published 02/15/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Mr. Christopher B. Johnstone to discuss the implications of Japan’s new National Defense Strategy for the United States and Korea, the Biden-Kishida Summit, and ROK-Japan bilateral relation.
Published 01/20/23
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha discusses his new Foreign Affairs essay on what the U.S. and allies should do to counter Chinese economic coercion, plus a discussion of North Korea’s latest ICBM engine test.
Published 12/16/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Dr. Chung Min Lee, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) and Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST), to discuss his recent report on South Korea’s national security and defense review, and the relationship between ROK-Japan, DPRK, and China under the Yoon administration.
Published 12/12/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Professor Yasuyo Sakata, professor of international relations at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan to discuss bilateral Korea-Japan relations, trilateral U.S.-Korea-Japan cooperation and the North Korean growing threat.
Published 11/21/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Mr. Christian Davies, Seoul bureau chief of the Financial Times, to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the Korean context, North Korea's nuclear tensions, and the 2022 National Defense Strategy report on North Korea.
Published 11/04/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, professor at King's College London and KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, to discuss his recently published book, Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop, North Korea's recent missile tests and military capabilities, as well as South Korea's response to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Published 10/14/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Ms. Jenny Town, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and Director of Stimson's 38 North Program, to discuss Vice President Harris' visit to Korea on September 29th, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and how the war in Ukraine and the situation in Taiwan Strait affect Korean policy and North Korean calculations.
Published 09/28/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Mr. Nicholas Szechenyi, Senior Fellow with the Japan Chair and Deputy Director for Asia at CSIS, to discuss Abe's death, the implications of the Liberal Democratic Party, Japanese defense security reform under Prime Minister Kishida, as well as trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan, and Korea.
Published 09/12/22
In Session 2, " Normalization of Korea-Japan Relations," of the ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2022, speakers Dr. Choi Eunbong, Dr. Ellen Kim, Dr. Sheila Smith, Dr. Sohn Yul, and Dr. Yoon Young-kwan discussed ways to improve the bilateral relationship between South Korea and Japan.
Published 08/30/22
In Session 1, "The Biden-Yoon Summit and Korea’s Pivot to Regional Leadership," of the ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2022, speakers Dr. Victor Cha, Dr. Ma Sangyoon, Mr. Robert Rapson, Dr. Yoon Young-kwan, and Amb. Mark Lippert discussed the U.S.-Korea alliance, the potential cooperation opportunities, and North Korea issues.
Published 08/26/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee from Tufts University to discuss the nature of North Korean leadership throughout three generations, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un, as well as the rise of Kim Yo-jong, the subject of Dr. Lee's forthcoming book, The Sister.
Published 08/17/22
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha is joined by Dr. Andrew Yeo, senior fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies at the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asian Policy Studies, and professor of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., for a conversation on his latest book, "State, Society and Markets in North Korea," an overview of North Korea's market history, state-market relationships, COVID-19 impacts on markets, and reflections on U.S. policy...
Published 07/28/22
This special episode is from the 7th annual ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum on June 6, 2022, CSIS Korea Chair's premier international forum bringing together policymakers, experts, and officials to discuss US-ROK alliance issues. Moderated by Amb. Mark Lippert, Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, delivers a keynote address on the U.S.- ROK Alliance.
Published 07/07/22
In a crossover episode with CSIS's The Truth of the Matter, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz talk about what is expected to be North Korea's seventh nuclear test and its repercussions - from our recent Beyond Parallel report.
Published 06/30/22
This special episode is from the 7th annual ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum on June 6, 2022, CSIS Korea Chair's premier international forum bringing together policymakers, experts, and officials to discuss US-ROK alliance issues. Lee Geun, the president of the Korea Foundation opens the event with welcoming remarks. The Secretary to the President for Economic Security, Wang Yunjong, delivers a keynote address on economic security, supply chains, and the ROK-U.S. cooperation.
Published 06/23/22
In this episode, Andrew Schwartz and Victor Cha are joined by Ellen Kim, the deputy director of the Korea Chair at CSIS, and Jonathan Cheng, China bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, for a discussion on the relationship between the United States, China, and Korea, including issues related to economics, foreign policy, and the current situation in Taiwan and North Korea.
Published 06/14/22