Timely talks on Korea’s security

Scott Snyder

The Center for U.S.-Korea Policy will hold a policy seminar today on Korean Peninsula issues that have come into the spotlight following the start of the new presidential administration in the United States.

“Prospects for Deepening the U.S.-ROK Alliance” will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. today at the Seoul Plaza Hotel.

It’s the center’s first official event since it was launched earlier this month by the Asia Foundation’s Washington, D.C. office.

The event aims to bring together U.S. and Korean experts in Seoul to discuss security issues that U.S. President Barack Obama will have to confront.

Thomas Hubbard, former U.S. ambassador to Korea, who has served as adviser to the U.S. government on Korean Peninsula policies, plans to discuss how the Obama administration can deal with the problems on the peninsula in his keynote speech.

His speech will be followed by panel presentations and discussions in which Scott Snyder; Michael Finnegan, senior associate of the National Bureau of Asian Research; and Lee Sook-jong, the president of the East Asia Institute, are expected to participate.

Scott Snyder, a U.S.-Korea relations scholar and an expert in Asian security issues including the Korean Peninsula, is founder and director of the policy center.

He’s the author of “China’s Rise and the Two Koreas” and “Negotiating on the Edge: North Korean Negotiating Behavior.”

“South Korea has developed the economic, political and security resources to be a first-tier partner on the international stage,” he said.

“Strengthened forms of cooperation with like-minded allies in the Asia-Pacific region are likely to be at a premium as the center of gravity for global economic and political interactions shifts toward Asia,” he added.

The center will conduct joint policy projects that promote specific issues and forms of cooperation, as well as serve as a resource for enhanced communication with policy makers in Seoul and Washington, the Asia Foundation said.

The center’s programs will address security, nuclear energy development, climate change and the influence of the U.S.-South Korea alliance on Northeast Asian relations.

The Center for U.S.-Korea Policy aims to promote the relationship between the United States and Korea mainly through bilateral policy coordination.

The Asia Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit, nongovernmental organization committed to the development of a “peaceful, prosperous, just and open” Asia-Pacific region.

By Park Sun-young Staff Reporter [spark0320@joongang.co.kr]