“DMGS’ Regional Studies Program provides students with an in-depth understanding of the practical application of these contemporary national and transnational issues. It examines trends and issues in the regional context as well as how the U.S. meets the challenges in each region.”
A new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Independent Task Force report, A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia, finds that the United States’ policy of “strategic patience” with North Korea will neither halt that country’s recurring and dangerous cycle of provocation nor ensure the stability of Northeast Asia in the future.
“The fifth North Korean nuclear test has left policy makers scrambling for both short term and long term solutions to a problem that, so far, has no solution. Many experts have called for a return to a multilateral negotiation framework such as the Six Party Talks.”
Are there any other dynamics in either China or Japan that you think play a role in the bilateral relationship?
“Demonstrations in China against the U.S. in the wake of The Hague Court’s ruling against China in the South China Sea are reminiscent of the demonstrations in China when the U.S. accidentally bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade on May 8, 1999.”
“Nationalism in China is a powerful political dynamic that could incite the government and its people to pursue policies that eventually will be inimical to China’s long-term interests. International law requires that China not interfere with the rights, freedom and lawful use of the sea and airspace in the South China Sea.”
“North Korea informed the U.S. on July 10th that it would cut off the New York channel of communication to the U.S. Government. If American policymakers lament their own lack of leverage against North Korea, this move demonstrates the limited options Pyongyang has with which to respond to the July 6 U.S. human rights sanctions against the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and other top officials.”
Woodward discussed the use of biometric technologies for national and homeland security purposes. He provided several case studies drawing on his experience as the Director of the Department of Defense Biometrics Management Office from 2003 to 2005.