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Report
How Does North Korea Evade Sanctions?
The United Nations has imposed increasingly restrictive sanctions on North Korea after each of the six nuclear weapons tests that it conducted between 2009 and 2016. Enforcement has been mixed, and North Korea has become adept at several techniques to evade sanctions.
Sep 23, 2021
Commentary
Three Principles for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security
In his inaugural address in 1998, former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung defined three principles for Korean Peninsula peace and security. How might these principles be adjusted to manage today's changing North Korean threats and the Korean security environment?
May 20, 2022

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Journal Article
Effect of Child Benefit Payments on Child Outcome Expenditures in South Korea
Using longitudinal data, Korea's child benefit programs are shown to generate positive child outcome expenditures. The effects are higher for lower- and middle-income families, suggesting that policy should target income groups.
May 25, 2023
Commentary
Standing Up to Kim Jong-un's Divide-and-Conquer Strategy
Kim Jong-un is frightened by even the current modest flow of information into the North. He may be prepared to reduce his provocations if those threats lead to the further spread of outside information in the North. At the very least, the ROK and the United States could try such efforts.
Jan 6, 2023
Report
South Korea's Policy Options in Asia: Summary of a Webinar Hosted by the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy
South Korea faces uncertainty over the roles it might play in Asia, especially South and Southeast Asia. An October 2022 webinar examined the strategies and policies available to South Korea.
Dec 15, 2022
Dissertation
Thinking About the Unthinkable: Examining North Korea's Military Threat to China
Examines North Korea's military threat to China.
Nov 8, 2022
Report
The Political Geography of the South China Sea Disputes
Until the early 20th century, the South China Sea was seen as a vital communications and trade passage that was not under the jurisdiction of any country or empire. How did littoral states' claims on its maritime zones and features develop? And what is the likely future of the disputes?
Oct 19, 2022
Commentary
Could K-Pop Help Deter Kim Jong-un's Provocations?
The United States and Republic of Korea could be more specific and creative in seeking to deter Kim Jong-un. The global popularity of K-Pop could be part of the strategy.
Oct 11, 2022
Blog
Veterans Health Care, Media Literacy, Sleep Retreats: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges of VA community care, the importance of improving middle schoolers' media literacy skills, tips to improve sleep, and more.
Sep 9, 2022
Report
Public Health and Soft Power: The Republic of Korea's Initial COVID-19 Response and Its Implications
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Republic of Korea (ROK) had one of the highest success rates in adopting effective nonpharmaceutical interventions. Can these pandemic response and foundation characteristics be turned into soft power assets for ROK?
Sep 7, 2022
Commentary
Can South Korea Help the World Beat the Next Pandemic?
As the world emerges from the long and devastating COVID-19 pandemic, nations around the world, including the United States, could look to South Korea's near-perfect response as a model for dealing with future public health crises.
Sep 7, 2022
Report
The Risks of North Korean Weapons of Mass Destruction
In addition to its nuclear weapons, North Korea has amassed chemical, biological, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. It has also created an active cyber hacker force. What can the United States and South Korea do to deter and, if necessary, counter these threats?
Aug 29, 2022
Multimedia
North Korean Sanctions Evasion
The United Nations imposed increasingly restrictive sanctions on North Korea after each of the six nuclear weapons tests that it conducted between 2009 and 2016. In this film, experts discuss the threats posed by North Korean proliferation and the importance of enforcing sanctions.
Aug 15, 2022
Commentary
Yoon Suk-yeol Is Biden's Perfect South Korea Partner
Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea's conservative new president, has shown that he is in lockstep with U.S. President Joe Biden on foreign policy. During Biden's Indo-Pacific trip in May, their conversations in the security domain suggest Yoon's overlapping tenure with Biden heralds a golden era in the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Jul 5, 2022
Report
Challenges of Deploying Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles on Allied Lands
The United States has been hoping to develop and deploy ground-based intermediate-range missiles to the Indo-Pacific. But what is the likelihood of its treaty allies in the region—Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand—hosting these systems? Are there alternatives to permanent basing?
Apr 28, 2022
Journal Article
Nuclear-Use Cases for Contemplating Crisis and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula
The paper identifies possible cases/scenarios that would lead to first use of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.
Apr 5, 2022
Report
What Would a Strategy of Restraint Mean for U.S. Security Policy?
If the United States adopted a grand strategy of restraint in the Asia-Pacific, how would its posture in the region change and how would it determine when to use force? What warfighting scenarios involving the defense of Japan could guide defense planning?
Mar 31, 2022
Blog
Keeping Russians Informed, No-Fly Zone Policy, Telehealth: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how to ensure Russians have access to accurate news about the war in Ukraine, strategic considerations for keeping a no-fly zone option on the table, treating pain conditions among U.S. service members, and more.
Mar 18, 2022
Commentary
Will South Korea's New President Reshape Regional Dynamics?
Yoon Suk-yeol has been elected president of South Korea. With a tall order to fill at home and abroad, the Yoon administration has the potential to reshape South Korea's future and relationships in the region. The path that he carves for Seoul in the coming weeks and months will be watched with keen interest marked by hopes and apprehension by his neighbors.
Mar 15, 2022
Commentary
What the Media Might Have Missed About South Korea's Elections
The toxicity of the anti-feminist discourse in South Korea does not accurately reflect the gender-related tensions and problems that most Koreans currently face. The obstacles to improving gender equity are more mundane and more ubiquitous than the hyperbole of anti-feminism suggests.
Mar 10, 2022
Report
Multi-Domain Integration in Defence: Conceptual Approaches and Lessons from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea
A study examining Russia, China, Iran and North Korea's current and future thinking on Multi-Domain Integration.
Jan 20, 2022
Journal Article
Decoupling from China: How U.S. Asian Allies Responded to the Huawei Ban
The paper analyzes how Australia, Japan, and South Korea responded to Washington's expectations of mutual support on the decoupling of Chinese technology companies from global supply chains.
Jan 6, 2022

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga

Policy Researcher

Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga is a policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, where he focuses on Asian security issues. He is also a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy, Chinese military strategy, China-North Korea…
King Mallory

Director, RAND Center for Global Risk and Security

King Mallory is the director of the Center for Global Risk and Security at the RAND Corporation. He is a former CEO with substantial diplomatic, research, strategic planning, and execution experience. Previously, he was national security policy coordinator for the presidential campaign of Ohio…

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