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What forces are at play in shaping South Korea's strategic geopolitical relationships?

Applied Geopolitics: South Korea's Response to Shifting Geopolitical Balances 

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Russian soldiers march in Moscow on May 4, 2023, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade on May 9.

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Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Russia Marks Victory Day, Japan's Leader Visits South Korea

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On Geopolitics

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers remarks during a U.S.-Korea Business Forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on April 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. 

President Yoon is trying to move his country to a more active foreign policy role, driven by fears of getting caught in the crosshairs of U.S.-China tensions and being usurped by Japan as a strategic regional power.

Shifting Geopolitics Prompt South Korea to Mull Reasserting Its Place in the World

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U.S. and South Korean flags are waved March 10, 2015, in Seoul, South Korea.

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The Weekly Rundown: South Korea's President Meets Biden, Lula Pushes Spain on EU Trade

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) attend a joint news conference at the prime minister's official residence on March 16, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. 

The recent thaw in relations could see Seoul and Tokyo deepen their economic and security cooperation in the coming months, but wartime grievances will impose an upper limit on cooperation.

A Historic Summit Bodes Well for Japan-South Korea Rapprochement -- For Now

South Korean opposition lawmakers and supporters of the victims of Japan's wartime forced labor hold up placards during a protest against a public hearing on the issue at the National Assembly in Seoul on Jan. 12, 2023. 

Seoul's push to compensate victims of Japanese labor violations will help facilitate bilateral cooperation on shared regional threats like North Korea.

To Mend Ties with Japan, South Korea Mulls a Deal on Wartime Grievances

Australia

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (left) bumps elbows with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G-20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on July 8, 2022.

By easing bans on Australian and South Korean exports, Beijing is looking to repair economic relations with both countries and slow the emergence of a U.S.-led, anti-China coalition in the region.

China Cracks Open the Door to Improved Ties With Australia and South Korea

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Two Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks of the German armed forces participate in the NATO Iron Wolf military exercises on Oct. 27, 2022, in Pabrade, Lithuania. On Jan. 20, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group of military equipment donors to Ukraine will meet at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where a breakthrough is expected regarding the supply of German Leopard tanks to Ukraine. 

The Weekly Rundown: Germany Discusses Tanks for Ukraine, the Lunar New Year Approaches

North Korea

A photo provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry on Nov. 9, 2022, shows the retrieved debris of a ballistic missile that North Korea recently fired across the two countries’ de facto maritime border. 

Its response to recent U.S.-South Korean military drills shows Pyongyang is growing more confident in its ability to manage escalation and reshape its own security environment.

The Implications of North Korea’s Shifting Deterrence Strategy

File footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen on a television screen at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 9, 2022. 

Seoul will likely react with its own show of force, but the risk of Chinese retaliation and restarting the Korean war will limit how far it can go. 

Gauging South Korea's Response to the North's Upcoming Nuclear Test

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 20, 2022, after North Korea hinted it could resume nuclear and long-range weapons tests. 

Pyongyang's upcoming nuclear test is unlikely to fundamentally change regional security dynamics -- so long as it's in line with previous tests.

What to Expect as North Korea Restarts Nuclear Weapon Tests

Will the rapprochement between Japan and South Korea hold?

Essential Geopolitics: Deciphering Japan and South Korea's Relationship

South Korea will reportedly send hundreds of thousands of unitary artillery rounds to the United States, which will then send them to Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal on May 25.

South Korea: Seoul Reportedly to Send Munitions to Ukraine via U.S.

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South Korea and the European Union released a joint statement agreeing on the North Korean nuclear threat, condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and agreeing to secure supply chains in key sectors, Yonhap News Agency reported on May 22.

South Korea, EU: Joint Statement Continues Seoul's Westward Lean

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced on May 21 that it was partially banning U.S. company Micron Technology Inc.'s memory chips in China and that critical infrastructure operators could not use its products, Reuters reported the next day.

China: Beijing Announces Partial Ban on Micron's Chips

Around 30 South Korean experts from May 22-25 will inspect facilities that are set to release more than one million tons of nuclear wastewater from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean in the coming months, Reuters reported on May 19.

Japan, South Korea: Seoul Sending Expert Scientists to Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Japan and South Korea will agree at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 2-4 to link their radar systems through the U.S. radar system to share real-time intelligence on North Korea's ballistic missiles, Reuters reported on May 9.

Japan, South Korea, U.S.: Tokyo and Seoul to Link Radar Systems Through Washington

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to cooperate on securing supply chains, including semiconductors, and deepen military-to-military and parliament-to-parliament ties during Kishida's two-day visit to Seoul, Nikkei Asia reported on May 7.

Japan, South Korea: Rapprochement Continues Under Kishida and Yoon

The United States has indicated to South Korea's leading chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, that it will grant another one-year waiver for their fabrication plants in China to continue importing U.S. chipmaking tools and technology, the Financial Times reported on May 2.

U.S.: Biden Administration to Allow Foreign Chip Manufacturers in China to Import U.S. Chipmaking Tools

U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will produce a "Washington Declaration" on April 26 aimed at strengthening security cooperation, a key element of which will involve the United States sending a nuclear-armed submarine to dock in South Korea for the first time since the early 1980s, The Korea Herald reported the same day.

U.S., South Korea: Countries to Produce Security-Focused 'Washington Declaration'

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Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

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The Republic of Korea, also called South Korea, occupies the southern half of a peninsula that juts out of the Asian mainland toward Japan. The country shares its only land border with North Korea, which it also borders in the Yellow and East seas. It shares maritime borders with Japan to the east and China to the west. South Koreas primary geographic challenges are overcoming internal fractures to maintain cohesion, and securing its maritime sphere and its southwest lowland pockets from its more powerful neighbors.    The ancient kingdoms of Baekje and Silla occupied the distinct geographic pockets of the southern peninsula, standing in contrast to a more unified space where North Korea now sits. The Taebaek mountains run along much of South Korea's eastern coast, largely protecting the country from invasion by sea from this direction. These mountain ranges provide a level of protection to the peninsula's most vulnerable feature: a north-south corridor of lowlands and hills along the west coast. This coast (as well as much of South Korea's southern coastline) is protected from easy landing by countless islands, mudflats and tidal rips.     However, the Nakdong River valley at Pusan offers a point of incursion to would-be invaders. From here, they can pass over the lower elevations of the Sobaek Mountains and onward to the western core. This has been the gateway for those seeking to control the peninsula, from the failed 16th century invasions of Japanese Daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the Japanese empire's later efforts in the 19th century. A North Korean invasion in 1950 (repelled by U.N. forces defending the Pusan Perimeter) highlights another key vulnerability for South Korea: the potential for incursions from the north via the western coastal strip. To hedge against aggression from all directions, South Korea is focused on securing its maritime space, particularly in the south and west. The country has prioritized its possession of Jeju Island in the Jeju Strait and has in the past held claims to Tsushima Island. Disputes with China over the Socotra Rock in the Yellow Sea and with Japan over Dokdo in the East Sea are also important elements of South Korea's overall maritime strategy.     The Korean Peninsula's historic policy of isolation was one way of remaining out of the crosshairs of its neighbors, but it has also aligned itself with rival powers throughout its history. Most recently, South Korea has used a third party — the United States — to maintain balance against neighbors that threaten it from sea and land. 

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SITUATION REPORTS

South Korea: Seoul Reportedly to Send Munitions to Ukraine via U.S.

South Korea, EU: Joint Statement Continues Seoul's Westward Lean

China: Beijing Announces Partial Ban on Micron's Chips

Japan, South Korea: Seoul Sending Expert Scientists to Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Japan, South Korea, U.S.: Tokyo and Seoul to Link Radar Systems Through Washington

Japan, South Korea: Rapprochement Continues Under Kishida and Yoon

U.S.: Biden Administration to Allow Foreign Chip Manufacturers in China to Import U.S. Chipmaking Tools

U.S., South Korea: Countries to Produce Security-Focused 'Washington Declaration'

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