
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 Scraps No-Fly Zone Near Border With North Korea
Victor Cha and Ellen Kim in New York Times — November 22, 2023
U.S. defense chief holds China focus amid Israel-Hamas conflict
Ellen Kim in Nikkei Asia — November 9, 2023
Are US relations with North Korea entering a new era? Hardly.
Victor Cha and Ellen Kim in The Hill — October 3, 2023
"4년전과 달리 푸틴 아쉬운 입장...김정은, 하노이노딜 만회 노려"
Ellen Kim in The JoongAng — September 12, 2023
Kim Jong Un’s Covid-Era Power Faces Test as North Korea Ends Isolation
Ellen Kim in Wall Street Journal — August 23, 2023
Summit held on countering North Korea
Ellen Kim in CNN — August 18, 2023
Biden-Kishida-Yoon summit can build platform for 3-way cooperation
Ellen Kim in Nikkei — August 14, 2023
Is a Soldier Who Sprinted into North Korea a Bigger Headache for Washington or Pyongyang?
Ellen Kim in Forbes — July 20, 2023
All Ellen Kim Content
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The Fruits of Kim-Putin Summitry: North Korea’s Military Satellite Launch
Critical Questions by Victor Cha and Ellen Kim — November 21, 2023
ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2023
Event — September 25, 2023
A Renewed Axis: Putin and Kim
Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Ellen Kim — September 19, 2023

The Impossible State Live Podcast: A Renewed Axis: Putin and Kim
Event — September 15, 2023
Summit between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin
Critical Questions by Victor Cha and Ellen Kim — September 13, 2023
A Renewed Axis: Growing Military Cooperation Between North Korea and Russia
Commentary by Victor Cha and Ellen Kim — September 6, 2023
Reviewing the Camp David Trilateral Summit
Event — August 29, 2023
The Camp David U.S.-Japan-Korea Trilateral Summit: An Exchange among CSIS Japan and Korea Chairs
Commentary by Victor Cha Christopher B. Johnstone Ellen Kim and Nicholas Szechenyi — August 23, 2023
Press Briefing: Previewing the Camp David Trilateral Summit
Event — August 14, 2023
What Is Yoon’s NATO Strategy?
Commentary by Ellen Kim — July 19, 2023