Korea Project

During April 11-13, 2023, the Korea Project will convene the 4th Korean Security Summit at Harvard. Our theme of “Korea – An Oracle of Global Trends” continues the exploration of how quickly various Korea-related functional issues play out with global implications. This year, we'll be providing unique Korea-connected insights into global trends ranging from bolstering deterrence to navigating increasing control of critical technologies like chips to curbing cybercriminals' revenue generation from crypto theft. On Day 1, we'll have Opening Remarks by Gheewhan Kim (President, Korea Foundation), Eric Rosenbach (Co-Director, Belfer Center), and Prof. Nicholas Harkness (Director, Korea Institute) to formally announce the establishment of a new endowment fund for the Korea Project.

The Honorable Dr. PARK Jin (Minister of Foreign Affairs, ROK), will deliver Congratulatory Remarks. Top researchers of Korean security issues, senior ROK and U.S. practitioners, and next-generation scholars will provide key findings from their respective research work over the course of the Summit. Kijun You (Consul General, ROK Consulate General in Boston) will deliver Closing Remarks. Through the annual Summit series, the Korea Project continues to advance its mission of growing Korean security studies at Harvard and beyond.

The Belfer Center's Korea Project acknowledges the generous support of the Korea Foundation. A light dinner will be served on all three days of the Summit.

Click HERE to RSVP for Day 1: “Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance”

Click HERE to RSVP for Day 2: “Navigating the Increasing Control of Critical Technologies”

Click HERE to RSVP for Day 3: “Curbing North Korea's Revenue Generation from Crypto Theft”

Dr. Victor Cha (Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair, CSIS; Vice Dean and D.S. Song KF Professor of Government, Georgetown University) will discuss his recent Foreign Affairs article on promoting “collective resilience” against Chinese economic coercion (click here). In order to compete more effectively with China, Dr. Cha argues that Washington should organize partners to build economic leverage and discourage Beijing from engaging in coercion in the first place. Dr. John Park (Director, Korea Project, Belfer Center) will chair this event.

This event is co-sponsored by the Korea Project (Belfer Center), the Asia-Pacific Initiative (Belfer Center), and the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations (Weatherhead Center).

The North Korea Cyber Working Group’s (NK CWG) second annual conference will take a deep dive on the role of technology and geopolitics in North Korean cyber activities, drawing on participants’ expertise and original research. Following the hosts’ welcome, Stanford University Hoover Fellow Jacquelyn Schneider will deliver keynote remarks. Two sets of panelists hailing from academia, government, and the private sector will then convene to lend color to the broader conversation. The first panel will discuss emerging North Korean cyber threats and explore novel approaches to countering them. The second panel will consider the geopolitical implications of North Korean cyber operations, as well as opportunities for international cooperation.

This event is co-sponsored by the Korea Project, the Cyber Project, and the North Korea Cyber Working Group.

The hosts acknowledge the generous support of the SBS Foundation Research Fund at Harvard  University’s Korea Institute.

The Korea Project invites members of the Harvard community to join us for an event with Dr. Taeho Bark, the Korea Project's 2022 Senior Visiting Scholar, on his research on South Korean economic statecraft. Dr. Bark, a former ROK Minister for Trade, will be presenting key findings from his forthcoming report titled "South Korea's New External Economic Strategies." Dr. William Overholt, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, will provide discussant remarks.

RSVPs are required for this in-person event open only to members of the Harvard community. Light refreshments will be served. Click here for a map of the Kennedy School.

This event is co-sponsored by the Korea Project, the Korea Institute, and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government.

The Korea Project invites members of the Harvard community to join us for an off-the-record event with Sydney Seiler, the National Intelligence Officer for North Korea. This Analytic Tradecraft Series event will focus on Seiler's analytic methodologies for understanding North Korea within the broad context of its worldview, identity, and strategic goals, and how he applies these methodologies to gain insights into the way in which North Korea supports such goals.

RSVPs are required for this in-person event open only to members of the Harvard community. Light refreshments will be served.

This event is co-sponsored by the Korea Project and the Korea Institute.

Join us for a public panel discussion with experts from the Belfer Center and the East Asia Institute on the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the global security architecture with a specific focus on South Korean security. The group will also assess what the ROK should do to address these security challenges and what role the ROK-U.S. alliance should play regarding the future global and regional security order, especially amid an intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.

RSVPs are required for this in-person event open only to members of the Harvard community. Light refreshments will be served.

During July 19-21, 2022, the Korea Project convened the 3rd Harvard Korean Security Summit. Our theme of “Korea – A Catalyst of Global Trends” explored how quickly various Korea-related functional issues play out with global implications. Korea cases provide unique insights into global trends ranging from ongoing efforts to change leader-level calculus (2017 Korean Missile Crisis) to the ROK’s designs for bolstering tech supply chain resilience to the DPRK’s expanding use of cryptocurrency theft for funding the regime. Dr. Geun Lee (President, Korea Foundation) delivered the Korea Foundation’s Opening Remarks, and Natalie Colbert (Executive Director, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School) delivered the Belfer Center’s Opening Remarks. The Honorable ROK Foreign Minister Dr. Park Jin delivered Congratulatory Remarks. We heard from top researchers of Korean security issues, senior ROK and U.S. practitioners, and next-generation scholars, who provided key findings from their respective research work. ROK Consul General Kijun You delivered Closing Remarks. Through the annual Summit series, the Korea Project continues to advance its mission of growing Korean security studies at Harvard and beyond.

The Belfer Center’s Korea Project acknowledges the generous support of the Korea Foundation.

Financially motivated cyber operations, especially cybercrime, represent an increasingly central component of North Korea’s strategy for evading sanctions and generating illicit revenue. In this event, Priscilla Moriuchi and Alex O’Neill will discuss ongoing trends and future expectations for North Korean financially motivated cyber operations, as well as O’Neill’s recent report, Cybercriminal Statecraft.

This event is co-sponsored by the Korea Project and the Cyber Project.

On International Human Rights Day, Dr. Jieun Baek will moderate a conversation with two high-profile North Korean escapees who will share their assessments and implications of the current situation in North Korea during this Covid-19 era. Mr. Ri Jong-Ho, a former senior economic official in North Korea, and his son Hyun-Seung Lee will discuss how North Korea has been affected due to Covid-19 lockdowns, and the short- and long-term implications of North Korea’s self-quarantining on human rights, security, and trade in North Korea. They will also share their recommendations on what the US government could consider regarding its North Korea policy, as well as their hopes and vision for North Korea’s future.

This event will explore the rise of North Korea as a cyber power and consider what the future of its operations holds, drawing on participants’ expertise and original research.