Please join former Japanese Ambassador to NATO Masafumi Ishii, former South Korean Ambassador to the NATO Hyoung Zhin Kim, and ASPI Vice President Danny Russel as they examine the significance of South Korea’s and Japan’s relations with NATO. 

The panelists will evaluate each nation’s contributions to the war in Ukraine and the significance of deepening defense ties with Europe. The panelists will also assess the outcome of the anticipated AP4 (Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand) meeting: Seoul and Tokyo’s engagement with other U.S. security partners in the Indo-Pacific, the progress building on the Camp David trilateral summit in 2023, the durability of the pact moving forward, and the impact on stability in the Indo-Pacific. Director of Political-Security Affairs Emma Chanlett-Avery will moderate.

SPEAKERS

Masafumi Ishii was the Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia till December 2020 and retired from Japanese Foreign Service in January 2021, having served there for more than 40 years. He graduated from Tokyo University and joined MOFA in 1980. His posts in Tokyo include Director for Policy Planning, Special Assistant to Foreign Minster, Director General for Global Issues and Legal Advisor. His overseas experience covers Washington DC, where he served twice, London, Belgium and NATO as the Ambassador. His last post was in Jakarta that lasted for almost 4 years. He has frequently participated in international seminars and symposium and is well known for his policy planning insight as well as his long-term experience in working with partners in ASEAN countries. He is presently teaching International Law at Gakushuin University. 

Hyoung Zhin Kim is a former Korean diplomat. He retired from the South Korean government in May 2022 after working more than 38 years. His last post was Deputy National Security Advisor to the President. He was ambassador to the European Union and NATO as well as Belgium and Luxemburg from January 2017 to December 2019. His overseas assignments were Washington, D.C. twice, Accra, Beijing, and Brussels. He participated in negotiations with North Korea, including the Six-Party Talks. Mr. Kim is currently a Visiting Researcher at the Institute for Future Strategy of Seoul National University, an Adjunct Researcher at Waseda University as well as a PhD student of the Global Governance Program at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) located at Roppongi, Tokyo. He has been a resident in Japan since October 2023.

Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one-year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region.

Emma Chanlett-Avery is Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's Washington, DC office and the Director for Political-Security Affairs. Previous to this post, she served for 20 years as a Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service. In 2023, she served as a Congressional Fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assisting the Chairman with drafting Asia policy legislation and preparing for hearings. Ms. Chanlett-Avery was a Presidential Management Fellow, with rotations in the State Department on the Korea Desk and at the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group in Bangkok, Thailand. She also worked in the Office of Policy Planning as a Harold Rosenthal Fellow.