What do the U.S. Midterm Elections Mean for U.S.-Korea Policy?

What do the U.S. Midterm Elections Mean for U.S.-Korea Policy?

- We anticipate no support from Congress for forward leaning diplomacy towards North Korea.

- We expect greater support for the human rights agenda on North Korea in the U.N.

- We expect greater support for heightened sanctions on North Korea like H.R. 1771 (North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2014), even in the absence of further North Korea provocations.

- We anticipate greater support for funding the military elements of the pivot to Asia, including missile defense cooperation with South Korea.

- We expect greater promotion of the free trade agenda in Asia, including TPP, but not without proactive entreaties by the White House for Congressional support on the issue.

Korea Chair Snapshot is published by the Office of the Korea Chair (http://www.csis.org/ program/korea-chair) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and non-proprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).