The alliances that anchor US strategy in Northeast Asia are being rebuilt around China. South Korea is moving toward wartime OPCON transition and a defense budget being 3.5% of GDP. Japan has lifted decades-old constraints on what it can build and sell, and will publish a revised national security strategy before the year is out. Washington's 2026 National Defense Strategy asks both allies to carry more. North Korea has not stood still either. Its arsenal has grown, its nuclear doctrine is codified in law, and its alignment with Russia has deepened. Yet as the alliances have grown stronger, Seoul and Tokyo have moved in opposite directions on how to deal with Pyongyang.
Later this fall the ROK-US Security Consultative Meeting in November and Japan's three revised strategic documents by year's end will set new terms for the geopolitical landscape. Join NCNK Inc. ahead of both for a conversation with Jenny Town of the Stimson Center and 38 North and Frank Jannuzi of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, moderated by NCNK's Keith Luse, on what alliance modernization means for deterrence, diplomacy, and the next opening with North Korea, whenever it comes. RSVP today!
Stronger Alliances, Tougher Diplomacy? North Korea and the Future of the US-ROK and US-Japan Alliances
