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Expert Bio
Scott A. Snyder is senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). His program examines South Korea’s efforts to contribute on the international stage; its potential influence and contributions as a middle power in East Asia; and the peninsular, regional, and global implications of North Korean instability. Mr. Snyder is the author of the forthcoming The United States-South Korea Alliance: Why It May Fail and Why It Must Not (December 2023), coeditor of North Korea's Foreign Policy: The Kim Jong-un Regime in a Hostile World (January 2023) with Kyung-Ae Park, author of South Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Powers (January 2018), coauthor of Domestic Constraints on South Korean Foreign Policy (January 2018) with Geun Lee, Young Ho Kim, and Jiyoon Kim, and coauthor of The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash: East Asian Security and the United States (May 2015) with Brad Glosserman. Mr. Snyder served as the project director for CFR’s Independent Task Force on policy toward the Korean Peninsula. He currently writes for the blog Asia Unbound.
Prior to joining CFR, Mr. Snyder was a senior associate in the international relations program of the Asia Foundation, where he founded and directed the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy and served as the Asia Foundation’s representative in Korea (2000–2004). He was also a senior associate at Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mr. Snyder has worked as an Asia specialist in the research and studies program of the U.S. Institute of Peace and as acting director of Asia Society’s contemporary affairs program. He was a Pantech visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center during 2005–2006, and received an Abe fellowship, administered by the Social Sciences Research Council, in 1998–1999. Mr. Snyder has provided advice to nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations active in North Korea and serves on the advisory council of the National Committee on North Korea.
Mr. Snyder received a BA from Rice University and an MA from the regional studies East Asia program at Harvard University. He was a Thomas G. Watson fellow at Yonsei University in South Korea.
Affiliations:
- Japan Bank of International Cooperation, consultant
- National Committee on North Korea, co-chair
Featured
Current Projects
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If Donald Trump were to win the 2024 presidential election, he would face at least three new realities that would shape his policy toward the Korean Peninsula.
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The inclusion of China in addition to North Korea as a shared security concern among the United States, South Korea, and Japan has established a new milestone for strengthened trilateral cooperation.
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Developments in China-South Korea and China-North Korea relations between May and August of 2023 indicate tightening linkages between regional economic and security dilemmas.
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The U.S.-Japan-South Korea summit at Camp David reflects trilateral institutionalization. However, the real threat to effective trilateralism lies in the domestic political environments of the three countries.
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Developments in China-South Korea and China-North Korea relations between January and April of 2023 include security and economic challenges, as well as Chinese criticisms of the Yoon administration’s diplomatic moves.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the United States involved an impressive range of meetings with a broad range of actors and sectors of U.S. society.
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The Washington Declaration, issued by presidents Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol, expands nuclear consultations between the United States and South Korea. However, U.S. credibility must prove durable for swift implementation.
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The upcoming state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to elevate and reaffirm the alliance, but it may not provide an immediate political boost to President Yoon.
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To achieve its goal of being a “global pivotal state,” South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol must maintain domestic political support by managing sensitive bilateral issues with Japan and the United States.
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Both South Korea and Japan have a stake in stabilizing their bilateral relationship. The sustainability of efforts to do so is at risk in the absence of acts of statesmanship by both President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida.
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For North Korea, 2022 was marked by a record number of missile tests, the implementation of a national quarantine against COVID-19 cases, and recentralized government control over economic activities.
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Developments in China-South Korea and China-North Korea relations between September and December of 2022 include the Xi-Yoon summit meeting, North Korean aggression, and paralysis at the UN Security Council.
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Whether South Korea’s recently released Indo-Pacific Strategy will be considered the “de facto foreign policy doctrine” of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration will depend on its implementation.
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Embracing its role as a developed country will allow South Korea to become more recognized as a key foreign policy actor.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivered his first speech to the UN General Assembly that outlined a daunting list of global challenges requiring a collective response through UN-based cooperation.
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China and South Korea mark thirty years of diplomatic relations, while geopolitical developments push China and North Korea closer together.
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There are at least three reasons why the North Koreans are likely to reject South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's "audacious" initiative outlined in his Liberation Day speech.
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The U.S.-South Korea Joint Statement between Presidents Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol from the recent summit in Seoul highlights shared worldview between leaders and cooperation based on common interests and priorities.
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Beijing Olympic Tensions, North Korea’s Testing Spree, and South Korea’s New Conservative Leadership
Developments in China-South Korea and China-North Korea relations between January and April of 2022 include the Beijing Olympics, North Korea's ICBM launch, and the election of Yoon Suk-yeol. -
The establishment of a stable framework for managing China-South Korea relations under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration will require the two countries to close the gap in understanding of the meaning of “mutual respect.”
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The upcoming summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden will likely address the U.S.-South Korea partnership, North Korea’s nuclear program, and South Korea’s relations with China and Japan.
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President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol must pass early challenges posed by China and North Korea if he is to establish a stable foundation for South Korea’s foreign policy.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has both short-and long-term implications for South Korean diplomacy as a global leader and North Korean revisionist aspirations toward the Korean Peninsula.
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Regardless of the presidential election outcome, South Korea's foreign policy will be in the hands of a president with no prior experience in foreign policy.