On March 15, the Sejong Institute and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies co-hosted a seminar themed “Evolving Security Situation in Northeast Asia and China-ROK Cooperation.” Zhao Minghao, professor at the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University and China Forum expert, was invited to give a keynote speech.

The US attempt to leverage the risk of a “Taiwan Strait conflict” to beef up its alliance with the Republic of Korea and the US-Japan-ROK military relations has increased the nexus between the Taiwan question and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, which requires caution in ROK’s response, said Zhao. Amid the prolonged crisis in Ukraine, it merits attention as to whether the Korean peninsula will undergo a “sudden twist” in the near future, as a head-to-head confrontation between DPRK and ROK will bring greater risks to regional security. ROK needs to look at China-US and China-Russia relations as well as China’s prospects based on reasonable and objective criteria, and handle nuclear issues and the US-Japan-ROK military relations with prudence, so as to safeguard peace in Southeast Asia, Zhao stressed. The China-ROK trade and tech relations are crucial to the strategic interaction between the two countries, which calls for active exploration of ways to deliver mutual benefits and defend multilateralism.

Founded in 1983, the Sejong Institute is dedicated to research and training on national and regional security and foreign relations of ROK.