Publication

This commentary discusses the foreign policy challenges Washington is facing in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and their impact on South Korean interests. The author comments on the growing divergences between the US and its European partners regarding Russia, as well as the challenges to US global leadership raised by crises in Syria and Iran. He then addresses the US Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy and suggests its success requires the strengthening of the US-Korea-Japan trilateral relations. However, for this to happen, and for the US to be able to protect its allies in the region, Korea must improve its bilateral relations with Japan.