Frank Aum joined USIP as Senior Expert for North Korea in September 2017, after serving as a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. From 2010-2017, Frank served as the Senior Advisor for North Korea in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During this time, he advised four Secretaries of Defense on issues related to Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula. Frank also served as head of delegation for working level negotiations in Seoul with the Republic of Korea (ROK) related to ballistic missile ranges and the transfer of wartime operational control, and received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. He received his BA from Dartmouth College, his MPP from the Kennedy School of Government, and his JD from the University of California, Berkeley