The world's leading North Korea experts analyze the challenges and prospects the country is facing.

South Korea has emerged as a major contributor to international security, participating in a wide range of activities far from the Korean peninsula. CFR scholars outline several steps that will ensure that South Korea can sustain this broadened role.

An exploration of the possibilities for enhanced U.S.-ROK cooperation in both traditional and nontraditional spheres.

CFR scholars provide policy options for preventing a major crisis in the territories immediately adjacent to China: North Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Central Asia.

These teaching notes, by CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Scott A. Snyder, feature discussion questions and additional projects for educators to supplement the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, U.S. Policy Toward the Korean Peninsula. In this report, a bipartisan group of eminent leaders in the fields of defense policy, weapons of mass destruction, human rights, and academia discuss their consensus on these issues and provide a range of recommendations for U.S. policy toward North and South Korea.

President Obama's Asia trip was marked by trade-related letdowns, missed opportunities, and fresh reminders that divergences of interests could be hard to finesse, say four CFR experts.

"The complex evolution of the Obama administration's policy toward North Korea during its first term and the characteristics of President Obama's world view together provide a framework for considering what the administration is likely to do in a second term," says Scott A. Snyder.

On the upcoming South Korean presidential election, Scott A. Snyder says the determining vote will be "South Korea's bulging forties cohort" that played a critical role in South Korea's transition from authoritiarianism to democracy and also has the greatest stake in its economic stability.

Despite an ongoing threat from North Korea, South Korea has emerged as a producer rather than a consumer of international security goods. As a newly elected member of the UN Security Council, South Korea has the opportunity to use these investments as a "middle power" and responsible leader in the international community, says Scott A. Snyder.

Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun observe that while the twenty-year anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea may provide a pretext for more active diplomacy to meet a growing list of potential disputes in the relationship, high-level contacts between China and North Korea have stalled, dampening China's hopes for regional engagement.

Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun say that uncertainties regarding a new North Korean leadership will create the context in which China, South Korea, and the United States must grapple with their future options for preserving stability in Northeast Asia.

Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun review the recent history of China-Korea relations.

Scott Snyder reviews Getting the Triangle Straight: Managing China-Japan-U.S. Relations, edited by Gerald Curtis, Ryosei Kokubun, and Wang Jisi.

Scott Snyder and See-won Byun analyze the divergent responses throughout Asia to the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.

Scott A. Snyder says that unless evidence of leadership instability in North Korea is concrete, diplomacy with the North must continue.

Scott A. Snyder examines South Korea's desire to increase its role in the international community.

Scott A. Snyder discusses the transition to North Korea's next generation of leadership.

Scott A. Snyder says President Obama's speech in Oslo reveals the president's views regarding North Korea-related issues.

In Comparative Connections, Scott A. Snyder and See-Won Byun detail how China takes two different approaches to North and South Korea.

Scott A. Snyder argues, "... any progress in the U.S.-DPRK relationship and in inter-Korean relations is likely to be mutually reinforcing."

Scott A. Snyder and See-Won Byun discuss the implications of potential political instability in North Korea.

Scott A. Snyder and Brad Glosserman state, "With President Barack Obama making his first trip to China, it is vital that the two countries have a clear understanding of what they expect from each other."

In Comparative Connections, Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun review recent developments toward North Korea's denuclearization.

Scott A. Snyder discusses Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Pyongyang on the sixtieth anniversary of Sino-DPRK ties.