KOREA FOUNDATION

The Korea-US Strategic Forum 2017 was held on September 5–6 in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the KF. As the first such meeting since the presidential inaugurations in the US and Korea, in January and May, respectively, the forum, under the theme of “Now and the Future of the ROK-US Alliance,” delved into such topics as “Opportunities and Challenges for the Alliance,” ”Northeast Asia and the Korea-US Alliance,” and ”The Future of US-ROK Economic and Trade Cooperation,” “Maximizing Pressure and Engagement,” and “Evaluation of the Five Years of the Kim Jong-un Regime.” Members of the Korean delegation engaged in heated debates with their American counterparts during the open-door session on the first day, with participants including former Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan; Sookmyung Women’s University Professor Kang In-soo; Handong University Professor Kim Joon-hyung; and Ewha Womans University Professor Choi Byung-il. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy was also on hand to deliver a keynote speech, while Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun delivered a luncheon address.
  The forum was launched late last year as a track 1.5 gathering of governmental and non-governmental policy experts and scholars from the two countries with backgrounds in politics, diplomacy, security, economics, and trade. Through unguarded discussion in open- and closed-door sessions, the two sides sought to promote mutual understanding of policy directions, seeking new means of cooperation, and strengthening future-oriented bilateral relations.
  The meeting was keenly followed by local experts, not only because it was the first large-scale conference to be held since the launching of the new administrations in both countries, but also because the two allies face a range of sensitive issues related to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), North Korea’s nuclear tests, as well as the possible withdrawal of the United States from the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The two-day forum also featured in-depth discussions on matters concerning a new beginning for the bilateral relationship between the two longtime partners.