
Ellen Kim is deputy director of the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she is also a senior fellow. Her research focuses on U.S.-Korea relations and U.S.-China strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. She joined the Korea Chair upon its inception in 2009 and previously served as associate director and fellow before her departure in 2015. Her recent publications include "North Korea without Change” (with Victor Cha in The International Relations of Asia, edited by David Shambaugh, Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming 2022) and "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: South Korea’s Strategic Dilemmas with China and the United States” (with Victor Cha, Asia Policy, January 2016). She holds a PhD in political science and international relations from the University of Southern California, an MPP from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BA in international relations and Japanese studies from Wellesley College.
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In the News
South Korea will be vulnerable to North’s drones for years, leak warns
Ellen Kim in The Washington Post — May 11, 2023
Biden, South Korea to increase signs of military power as show of force against North Korea
Ellen Kim in USA Today — April 26, 2023
'Embarrassing wrench': How Pentagon leak complicates South Korean president's state visit with Biden
Ellen Kim in USA Today — April 23, 2023
North Korea asserts first evidence of tactical nuclear weapons
Ellen Kim in BBC News — March 28, 2023
N. Korea fires two ballistic missiles as Freedom Shield exercise enters second day
Ellen Kim in The Korea Herald — March 14, 2023
China, North Korea do not trust each other: CSIS
Ellen Kim in The Korea Times — December 15, 2022
平壤又射导弹,美中紧张是否让北京更“露骨地包庇朝鲜”?
Ellen Kim in Voice of America — November 19, 2022
Will North Korea conduct a nuclear test during China’s Congress?
Ellen Kim in Aljazeera — October 11, 2022
All content by Ellen Kim
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The U.S. Role in Indo-Pacific Security: A Conversation with Ely Ratner and Siddharth Mohandas
Event by Christopher B. Johnstone and Ellen Kim — May 25, 2023
North Korean Human Rights and International Cooperation: The Way Forward after the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI)+10
Event by John J. Hamre , Victor Cha , Jin Park , Shin-wha Lee , and Hyun-dong Cho , Robert R. King , Jung-Hoon Lee , Michael Kirby , Elizabeth Salmón , Robert Joseph , Jung H. Pak , Scott Snyder , Chaesung Chun , Sheena Chestnut Greitens , Ellen Kim — April 21, 2023
Press Briefing: Previewing ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol’s State Visit
Event by Victor Cha , Ellen Kim , Nicholas Szechenyi , and Gregory C. Allen — April 19, 2023
North Korea’s Ballistic Missile Campaign
Commentary by Ellen Kim — March 20, 2023
The Kishida-Yoon Summit Meeting: A New Start for Japan-Korea Relations
Critical Questions by Ellen Kim , Nicholas Szechenyi , Victor Cha , and Christopher B. Johnstone — March 15, 2023
North Korea Launches Strategic Cruise Missiles from Submarine
Critical Questions by Ellen Kim — March 13, 2023
A Busy Weekend of Missile Tests in North Korea
Critical Questions by Victor Cha and Ellen Kim — February 21, 2023
Assessment of South Korea’s New Indo-Pacific Strategy
Commentary by Ellen Kim — January 19, 2023
Indo-Pacific Forecast 2023
Event by Victor Cha , Emily Benson , Jude Blanchette , Charles Edel , Matthew P. Goodman , Christopher B. Johnstone , Scott Kennedy , Ellen Kim , and Bonny Lin , Lily McElwee , Erin L. Murphy , Yuko Nakano , Gregory B. Poling , William Alan Reinsch , Nicholas Szechenyi , Raymond Vickery , Kurt Campbell , Ambassador Taeyong Cho , Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez — January 12, 2023
North Korea’s Missile Crossed the Northern Limit Line
Critical Questions by Ellen Kim — November 2, 2022