ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2025

John Hamre, President and CEO, CSIS
SONG Guido, President, The Korea Foundation 

Jonathan Fritz, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State

North Korea has enshrined its nuclear weapons status in its Constitution and vowed to never give up its nuclear weapons. The Lee administration proposed the E.N.D. initiative to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and to resume dialogue with the North. President Trump wants to renew summitry with Kim Jong-un. Is denuclearization of North Korea still possible, or should future negotiations shift to arms control? Lessons learned from former negotiators.

Robert Gallucci, Distinguished University Professor, Georgetown University
Stephen Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State; Weiser International Policymaker in Residence, Weiser Diplomacy Center, University of Michigan
CHO Byung Jae, Former Chancellor, Korea National Diplomatic Academy
JUN Bong-geun, Professor Emeritus, Korea National Diplomatic Academy

Moderator:
Sydney Seiler, Senior Adviser (non-resident), CSIS Korea Chair; Former National Intelligence Officer for North Korea, National Intelligence Council; Former U.S. Special Envoy for Six Party Talks 

Kurt Campbell, Former Deputy Secretary of State; Chairman and Co-Founder, The Asia Group

Moderator:
Victor Cha, President of Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair, CSIS; Distinguished University Professor, Georgetown University

Will the U.S.-ROK trade & investment deal bring stability to bilateral economic relations? Will the two countries find common areas of cooperation and bring about a manufacturing renaissance? Is there a “win-win” solution for Korea? Has Korea been able to successfully minimize risk and maximize reward with the Trump administration? What are some lessons learned from the trade negotiations?

KIM Heungchong, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies; Former President, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
Kelly Ann Shaw, Senior Adviser (non-resident), CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development; Former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
KIM Seungho, Professor, Hallym University; Former Deputy Trade Minister for Legal and Multilateral Affairs
Rob Porter, Chief Global Affairs Officer, Coupang; Former White House Staff Secretary

Moderator: 
Mark Lippert, Senior Adviser (non-resident), CSIS Korea Chair; Former U.S. ambassador to the ROK

How resilient is the CRINK or “Axis of Upheaval” bloc that includes China and Russia, and what are their goals in the Indo-Pacific and the Korean Peninsula? What can the U.S. and ROK do to break the alignment? How does U.S.-China competition impact Korea-China bilateral relations? And how should the U.S. and ROK manage trilateral cooperation with the new government in Japan?

Victor Cha, President of Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair, CSIS; Distinguished University Professor, Georgetown University
Thomas Wright, Senior Fellow, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology, Brookings Institution; Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council 
KIM Youngjun, Dean of Academic Affairs, National Security College, Korea National Defense University
LEE Seong-Hyon, Senior Fellow, George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.–China Relations

Moderator: 
Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow, Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS