Moon Chung-in, a noted expert in the field of international relations and peace affairs, shares his thoughts on where we’re headed in 2023

Amid a troubling geopolitical environment, USIP’s Frank Aum discussed the prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula with Yonsei University’s Dr. Moon Chung-in, who has advised three South Korean presidents on North Korea policy and was one of the architects of the “sunshine” engagement policy in the 1990s.

Crisis stability is as important as deterrence and as much attention should be paid to preventing wars as to winning them.

While a military alliance and values alliance between South Korea and the US have both been espoused by previous conservative governments in Korea, the economic security alliance is a fairly new concept. But we should be wary of the flashing red lights.

As one expert put it, progress on North Korea will only come once we look at things from its point of view.

The Japanese government is calling to prevent nuclear proliferation and reduce nuclear arsenals while maintaining its current nuclear deterrence, while civil society and the Nagasaki municipal government are advocating the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free zone in Northeast Asia on the grounds that eliminating nuclear weapons is the only way forward. Those represent two conflicting attitudes toward the nuclear issue in Japan today.