The Impossible State

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Dr. J. Stephen Morrison of CSIS and Dr. Kee Park of Harvard Medical School to talk about Covid-19 in North Korea. They discussed what we know and don't know about the lockdown and the severity of the health situation there, and what to expect moving forward with how the Biden administration and the international community will deal with the pandemic in North Korea.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

On December 1st, the CSIS Korea Chair held a special discussion on the state of North Korea’s economy today and what scenarios could be expected for its economy in the future. The panels examined the impact of sanctions, Covid-19, and natural disasters on North Korea’s trade, industry, markets, and finance sector. The experts also explored potential scenarios for North Korea’s economy in the event of a diplomatic breakthrough on denuclearization. In this episode, we highlight the keynote address that opened up the session from Mr. Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary for North Korea in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and deputy special representative for North Korea, U.S. Department of State. Please click here to watch the full online event.

In this episode, Andrew and Dr. Victor Cha invite a panel of guests to discuss the state of trilateral relations between Japan, South Korea, and the United States. To analyze what events have shifted the relationships, we are joined by Dr. Michael Green, Dr. Eva Pejsova, and Dr. Ramon Pacheco-Pardo. Dr. Green is senior vice president for Asia and Japan Chair at CSIS, and director of Asian Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Dr. Pejsova is senior japan fellow at the Institute for European Studies of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (IES-VUB), and associate fellow at the French Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). Dr. Pacheco-Pardo is Korea Chair at the Institute for European Studies of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (IES-VUB) and reader (associate professor) in International Relations at King's College London.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

This episode is from the CSIS Korea Chair's live YouTube series, "The Capital Cable." Special guest Ambassador Caroline Kennedy joins Ambassador Mark Lippert, Dr. Victor Cha, and Dr. Sue Mi Terry for a conversation on her time as ambassador to Japan (2013-2017), the U.S.-Korea-Japan trilateral relationship, and the importance of female leadership in national security.

In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Dr. Gi-Wook Shin to discuss the state of South Korea's democracy. Dr. Shin draws on his recent article "Korean Democracy is Sinking under the Guise of the Rule of Law," to examine signs of democratic backsliding in the Moon administration, and considers it part of a broader trend in a global decline of democracy. Dr. Gi-Wook Shin is director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea in the Sociology Department and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and a professor of sociology, all at Stanford University.

In this episode, Victor Cha and Andrew Schwartz are joined by Dr. Seong-Ho Sheen and Chad O'Carroll to discuss all of the tough issues North Korea is currently facing including concerns over Covid-19, monsoon floods, food shortages, and sanctions. They also think ahead on the U.S. presidential election, and how its outcome could affect relations with North Korea. Dr. Seong-Ho Sheen is a professor of international security and East Asia at the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University. Chad O'Carroll is the CEO and Founder of Korea Risk Group and NK News.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

This bonus episode comes from CSIS’s Beyond Parallel Living History video series. We invite Robert King, former special envoy for North Korea human rights issues, to share his experience leading efforts to advance human rights and humanitarian conditions in North Korea. Ambassador King served as special envoy for North Korea human rights issues at the U.S. Department of State from 2009 – 2017.

This bonus episode comes from CSIS’s Beyond Parallel Living History video series. In this episode, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow reflects on his work to bolster the U.S.-ROK alliance during his post in South Korea. He shares personal accounts of his experience negotiating key policies like the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and goes on to reveal his “diplomatic secret weapon” to establish rapport with South Korean citizens. Ambassador Vershbow served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2005–2008.

This bonus episode comes from CSIS’s Beyond Parallel Living History video series. We invite Shin Kak-soo, former South Korean ambassador to Japan, to share his thoughts on the complexities of South Korea’s relations with Japan. Ambassador Shin served as the South Korean ambassador to Japan from 2011–2013.

In this special episode, Ambassador Mark Lippert and Victor Cha bring together an all-star cast of Korean baseball experts to talk about the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), its games being broadcast live in America on ESPN, and the importance baseball has played in people-to-people relationships between the U.S. and Korea and their alliance.

This virtual session, moderated by Dr. Young-kwan Yoon, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, features a discussion on opportunities for the future-oriented U.S.-ROK collaboration in new concepts of security including cyber, AI, and outer space. This is Session III of CSIS's three-part ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2020, that took place on June 24th and June 25th, 2020.

This virtual session, moderated by Ms. Anna Fifield, Beijing Bureau Chief at The Washington Post, features a discussion about the current global health crisis and the comprehensive impact of pandemics on the world. This is Session II of CSIS's three-part ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2020, that took place on June 24th and June 25th, 2020.

This virtual session moderated by Ambassador Mark Lippert, Senior Advisor at the CSIS Korea Chair and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, features a discussion about the status of U.S.-ROK alliance in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

In this episode, Victor Cha and Joseph Bermudez discuss the reappearance of Kim Jong Un and the breaking news surrounding satellite images CSIS released this week of a previously undisclosed North Korean missile facility.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

In this hybrid episode of Truth of the Matter and the Impossible State, CSIS’ Victor Cha and Steve Morrison join Andrew Schwartz to discuss South Korea’s innovative systems for tracking Covid-19 and whether they can work for the United States.

In this episode, Andrew and CSIS's Victor Cha discuss how South Korea is battling COVID-19 and the innovative strategies they took to prevent a wider spread of the virus. Victor also gives insight into what is and isn't known on how North Korea is responding to the global pandemic, noting their recent missile tests. This is a crossover episode with The Truth of The Matter.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

In this episode, H. Andrew Schwartz and CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha talk with Seth Berkman, contributing editor at The New York Times. They discuss Berkman’s new book “A Team of Their Own,” which tells the story of the Unified Korean women’s hockey team from the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

This bonus episode comes from CSIS's Beyond Parallel Living History video series. We invite former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon to discuss global efforts to denuclearize North Korea during the six-party talks. Minister Song was the director general for North American affairs and chief delegate during the six-party talks in 2005. He played a key role in the September 2005 multilateral denuclearization agreement with North Korea, involving the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia.

In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea expert Victor Cha, and Dr. Kang Choi, acting president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. They discuss North Korea’s recent missile launch, South Korea-Japan relations, and more.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

In this episode, Andrew and Dr. Victor Cha welcome a special guest. Dr. Katrin Katz is the Adjunct Fellow in the Office of the Korea Chair at CSIS. From 2007 to 2008, Dr. Katz served as director for Japan, Korea and Oceanic Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council. They discuss various factors of the on-going South Korea-Japan trade dispute, which direction it might go, and what role the U.S. could play in it all.

In this episode, Andrew and CSIS’s Victor Cha welcome Anna Fifield, Beijing Bureau Chief of the Washington Post. Fifield is the author of the recent biography, The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un. They discuss the challenges of reporting on a reclusive state, the recent Trump-Xi summit, and the future of the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea. (Recorded from remote locations on Friday, June 21, 2019.)

In this second-ever live episode, students of CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha’s “Modern Asia” class join host Andrew Schwartz and guests for a lively discussion about the upcoming meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and President Trump. Guests include Victor Cha, CSIS Korea Chair Senior Fellow Sue Mi Terry, and Kelly Magsamen, the vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress. Download transcript here.

In this first live episode of The Impossible State, four esteemed guests join host H. Andrew Schwartz to discuss the latest Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi. Panelists included former US Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow, CSIS Korea experts Victor Cha and Sue Mi Terry, and Washington Post White House reporter David Nakamura.

Dr. Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia at CSIS, joins host Andrew Schwartz to discuss the aftermath of the latest Trump-Kim summit, and reactions from U.S. allies in the region. Download transcript here.

In this episode, host H. Andrew Schwartz and CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha invite Dr. Stephen Noerper to preview the second Trump-Kim summit. Stephen Noerper is the Korea Society senior director for policy and education, a Columbia University adjunct professor, and senior advisor to the United Nations programme in support of cooperation in Northeast Asia. Download transcript here.

In this episode, experts discuss the upcoming Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi. CSIS's Korea Chair, Victor Cha, and host H. Andrew Schwartz welcome Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Institute for European Studies and Reader in International Relations at King's College London. Pardo offers the view from Europe. Download transcript here.

Tom Karako, senior fellow with the International Security Program and director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, joins resident Korea expert Victor Cha and host Andrew Schwartz to discuss the 2019 Missile Defense Review. They also discuss the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment and how North Korea’s threat will play out as President Trump is expected to meet with Kim Jong-un next month. Download transcript here.

David Sanger of the New York Times and resident Korea expert Victor Cha weigh in on the recent CSIS findings of 16 hidden missile bases in North Korea. They discuss David Sanger’s article on the matter, and how the Trump administration has responded to these findings. Download transcript here.

Stephen Morrison, the director of CSIS’ Global Health Policy Center and resident Korea expert Victor Cha, discuss Morrison’s documentary about the health crisis in North Korea. The Gathering Health Storm Inside North Korea was presented by CSIS’ Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security. You can watch the documentary and find out more at https://healthsecurity.csis.org/articles/the-gathering-health-storm-inside-north-korea/. Download transcript here.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

David Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California, joins CSIS’s Victor Cha again by phone to discuss the latest Inter-Korean summit, what this means for denuclearization, and what to expect from a potential 2nd Trump-Kim summit. Download full transcript here.

David Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California, joins guest host Victor Cha of CSIS to discuss the second edition of their book, Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies from the studio. Originally published in 2003, the new edition—out today—includes updated insights on recent developments.

Dr. Jennie Jin, an anthropologist with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the lead researcher tasked to identify the recent American POW/MIA remains from North Korea, joins resident expert Victor Cha and host H. Andrew Schwartz by phone from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Download transcript here.

Motoko Rich, the Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times, joins CSIS's Victor Cha by phone to discuss the view from Japan. Download transcript here.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

Rebecca Hersman, the director of the Project on Nuclear issues at CSIS who is a former WMD non-proliferation expert with the Defense Department, discusses the challenges and mechanics of complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization in North Korea. Download transcript here.

Special guests Ambassador Robert King, the former special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, and Joseph Kim, a young man who defected from North Korea in 2006, discuss human rights in North Korea and the Trump administration’s position on the issue in the aftermath of the Singapore Summit. Download transcript here.