Victor Cha

President, Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair
Victor Cha

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. From 2021 to 2025, 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 nine 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, and The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco, 2012), selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012.” His other books are Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies (Columbia University Press, 2003); Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2009); 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); The Black Box: Demystifying the Study of Korean Unification and North Korea (Columbia University Press, 2024); North Korea’s Sea-Based WMD Capability (Bloomsbury, 2025); and China’s Weaponization of Trade: Resistance through Collective Resilience (Columbia University Press, 2026). 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, 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 boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the Korea Society 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.

Programs & Projects

Areas of Expertise

Media Queries

Victor Cha's Analysis

Photo: Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images

Photo: Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images

Why Japan and South Korea Won’t Go Nuclear

CSIS’s Victor Cha and Kristi Govella argue in Foreign Affairs that nuclear concerns about Japan and South Korea are exaggerated—but the United States should remain vigilant on the proliferation risk in East Asia.

Commentary by Victor Cha and Kristi Govella — May 7, 2026

Victor Cha's Podcasts

State of Play Cover Art

Is a Cold Peace with North Korea Possible?

Victor Cha and Sydney Seiler join Will to discuss what a better U.S.- North Korea strategy would look like.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman and Victor Cha — May 7, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast Banner

Korean Messiah

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Jonathan Cheng — May 5, 2026

In the News 8 of 897 results

Show More

All Victor Cha Content

Filter by

1 - 10 of 912 results

Reassessing the Strategic Value of China to Korea

With new administrations in Washington and Seoul, and discussion of finding a common approach to China, it is time for a bottom-up reassessment of China's strategic value to South Korea. South Korea cannot properly respond to U.S. policies toward China without a serious and comprehensive reevaluation of its relationship with its neighbor.

Event — May 13, 2026

State of Play

Is a Cold Peace with North Korea Possible?

Victor Cha and Sydney Seiler join Will to discuss what a better U.S.- North Korea strategy would look like.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman and Victor Cha — May 7, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Why Japan and South Korea Won’t Go Nuclear

CSIS’s Victor Cha and Kristi Govella argue in Foreign Affairs that nuclear concerns about Japan and South Korea are exaggerated—but the United States should remain vigilant on the proliferation risk in East Asia.

Commentary by Victor Cha and Kristi Govella — May 7, 2026

The Impossible State

Korean Messiah

In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Jonathan Cheng on how the surprising ties between the Kim dynasty and American Christianity shaped North Korea’s leadership, and how power, belief, and narrative intersect in the hermit kingdom, influencing dynamics in Northeast Asia and the broader international landscape.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Jonathan Cheng — May 5, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast
Audio Briefs

Can Sports Diplomacy Open a Door on the Korean Peninsula?

An audio version of ⁠Can Sports Diplomacy Open a Door on the Korean Peninsula?⁠, a new Critical Questions by CSIS's Victor Cha and Andy Lim. his audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Victor Cha and Andy Lim — May 4, 2026

Audio Briefs

Can Sports Diplomacy Open a Door on the Korean Peninsula?

Sports diplomacy has always been an important tool of inter-Korean diplomacy, and the upcoming football match between North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s Football Club and South Korea's Suwon FC Women in South Korea offers an opportunity for diplomatic breakthrough.

Critical Questions by Victor Cha and Andy Lim — May 4, 2026

The Impossible State Live Podcast: Korean Messiah

Please join this special episode of The Impossible State Live podcast, featuring Jonathan Cheng, China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, and his new book, Korean Messiah.

Event — April 29, 2026