
Victor Cha is president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a distinguished university professor and professor of government at Georgetown University. In 2021, he was appointed by the Biden administration to serve on the Defense Policy Board in an advisory role to the secretary of defense. From 2004 to 2007, he served on the National Security Council (NSC), where he was responsible for Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations. Dr. Cha was the U.S. deputy head of delegation at the Six Party Talks and received two Outstanding Service Commendations during his tenure at the NSC. He is the author of eight books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States–Korea–Japan Security Triangle (Stanford University Press, 1999), which won the 2000 Ohira Book Prize; The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco, 2012), selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012”; Powerplay: Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia (Princeton University Press, 2018); Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale University Press, 2023); and The Black Box: Demystifying the Study of Korean Unification and North Korea (Columbia University Press, 2024). Dr. Cha is a two-time Fulbright scholar and a former Olin Fellow at Harvard University, as well as a former Hoover, Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), and Koret fellow at Stanford University. He currently serves on the editorial boards of ten academic journals and is coeditor of the Contemporary Asia book series at Columbia University Press. He serves on the board of the National Endowment for Democracy and is a senior fellow at the George W. Bush Institute. Dr. Cha received his PhD, MIA, and BA from Columbia University and a BA with honors from Oxford University.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Samuel Cestari
- Media Relations Coordinator, External Relations
- 202.775.7317
- scestari@csis.org
In the News 8 of 857 results
S. Korea's new gov't may have to deal with U.S. 'strategic flexibility' over USFK: U.S. expert
Victor Cha cited in Yonhap News Agency — April 23, 2025
Richard Armitage: An old-school US diplomat who knew the reach and restraint of American power
Victor Cha in The Straits Times — April 16, 2025
Amid new Trump era, South Korea considers ‘plan B’ – building its own nuclear weapons
Victor Cha in USA Today — April 13, 2025
South Korea needs political reform to attract investor interest: David Roche
Victor Cha in CNBC — April 4, 2025
(News Focus) U.S. experts forecast rough ride ahead for S. Korea-U.S. alliance amid leadership vacuum in Seoul
Victor Cha in Yonhap News Agency — April 4, 2025
Economy will be ‘a big part’ of the next South Korean presidential election: CSIS’ Victor Cha
Victor Cha in CNBC — April 4, 2025
Global stocks sink in second day of market turmoil over Trump tariffs
Victor Cha in BBC — April 4, 2025
Claims of plot to reinstate impeached president Yoon rock South Korea
Victor Cha in South China Morning Post — April 1, 2025
All Victor Cha Content
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The Impossible State Live Podcast: Is Trump Ready to Re-engage with North Korea?
Event — May 2, 2025
Nampo Guided Missile Frigate Unwrapped
Commentary by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha, and Jennifer Jun — April 23, 2025
Yongdok-tong Nuclear High Explosive Test Facility: Part 1
Commentary by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha, and Jennifer Jun — April 22, 2025
Korea, Japan, and the Tariff War
Podcast Episode by Victor Cha, Kristi Govella, and William Alan Reinsch — April 21, 2025

The Impossible State Live Podcast: Korea, Japan, and the Tariff War
Event — April 16, 2025
After Impeachment: South Korean Presidential Election | The Capital Cable #110
Event — April 11, 2025
The Future of U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Cooperation
Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Michael J. Green — April 11, 2025

North Korea Restores Uiju Airbase
Commentary by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha, and Jennifer Jun — April 9, 2025
The Impossible State Live Podcast: The Future of U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Cooperation
Event — April 7, 2025
The Constitutional Court Decides Yoon's Fate
Podcast Episode by Victor Cha — April 7, 2025
