
Victor Cha is senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at CSIS. He is also the distinguished university professor and professor of government at Georgetown University. He was appointed in 2021 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) and was responsible for Japan, Korea, Australia/New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations. Dr. Cha was 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 seven books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford, 1999) (winner of 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, 2018), and Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale, 2023). Dr. Cha is a two-time Fulbright scholar, former Olin fellow at Harvard, and former Hoover, CISAC, and Koret fellow at Stanford. He currently serves on 10 editorial boards of 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. He is also a foreign affairs contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. Dr. Cha received his PhD, MIA and BA degree from Columbia University and a BA Honors from Oxford University.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
In the News
What Does Victory Look Like in Ukraine?
Victor Cha in Foreign Policy — September 27, 2023
South Korea-China-Japan summit: China has a lot at stake, think tank says
Victor Cha in CNBC — September 27, 2023
The ‘businesslike’ release of Travis King is ‘not what we would normally expect of North Korea’
Victor Cha in MSNBC — September 27, 2023
Putin and Kim’s Embrace May Place Xi in a Bind
Victor Cha in New York Times — September 16, 2023
What might Kim have that Putin's military needs in Ukraine?
Victor Cha in NBC — September 14, 2023
North Korea could get satellite and nuclear weapons help from Putin. Why it matters.
Victor Cha in USA Today — September 14, 2023
As Putin and Kim Jong Un meet, the West fears what Russia and North Korea are planning
Victor Cha in CNBC — September 13, 2023
Putin and Kim's increasingly cozy alliance could pose risk to the West: ANALYSIS
Victor Cha in ABC — September 12, 2023
All Victor Cha Content
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China and Russia's Role in North Korea's Human Rights Abuses
Event by Katrin Fraser Katz , Victor Cha , Mark Lippert , and Sue Mi Terry — October 5, 2023
The Impossible State Live Podcast: The Sister
Event by Victor Cha and Sung-Yoon Lee — September 28, 2023
ROK-U.S. Strategic Forum 2023
Event by Antony Blinken , Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) , John J. Hamre , Kim Gheewhan , Victor Cha , Mark Lippert , and Vincent Brooks , Kathleen Stephens , Yun Byung-se , Han Sukhee , Christopher B. Johnstone , Lee Chung Min , Lee Jaemin , Lim Eunjung , Sydney Seiler , Sue Mi Terry , Ellen Kim — September 25, 2023
Korea: A New History of South & North
Event by Victor Cha , Ramon Pacheco Pardo , and Sue Mi Terry — September 21, 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 by Victor Cha , Angela Stent , and Ellen Kim — September 15, 2023
How China and Russia Facilitate North Korea’s Human Rights Abuses
Report by Victor Cha and Katrin Fraser Katz — September 14, 2023
Kim Jong Un-Putin Summit
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Victor Cha — September 14, 2023

Summit between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin
Critical Questions by Victor Cha and Ellen Kim — September 13, 2023
U.S.-ROK Bilateral Dialogue for the Next 70 Years of the U.S.-ROK Alliance
Event by John J. Hamre , Cheol Hee Park , Victor Cha , Jung H Pak , Kathleen Stephens , Kak-Soo Shin , Vincent K. Brooks , and Hyun-Wook Kim — September 11, 2023