2026-2027 Cohort Next-Generation Korean Peninsula Specialists

Xinhua Cui

Xinhua Cui is a PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University, where she earned her Master’s degree. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Politics from Jilin University, and previously served as a Global Asia Fellow at the East Asia Foundation in Seoul.

Her research focuses on East Asian security, particularly nuclear strategy in China and on the Korean Peninsula. A native speaker of both Chinese and Korean, she works fluently with primary sources across Chinese, South Korean, and North Korean materials.

She is currently working on two projects: her doctoral dissertation, “Three Essays on Chinese Nuclear Strategy,” which combines computational text analysis with close reading of primary sources, and a co-authored study with Professor Chung-in Moon on the erosion of South Korea’s nuclear taboo since the 1950s.

Michael Donmoyer

Michael Donmoyer is a Research Analyst in the Regional, Strategy, and Policy Analysis Division at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). He served as a U.S. Army officer with assignments to South Korea during the tensions over North Korea’s ICBM launches and nuclear test in 2017 to 2018 and again during the COVID-19 pandemic as a current operations officer on the U.S. Eighth Army headquarters staff. He worked as a China analyst for the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command G2 and as a research fellow for the U.S. Army Foreign Military Studies Office, where he co-authored two open-source reports on how China and Russia leverage instruments of national power to gain military influence in North Korea. He has also published with 38 North at the Stimson Center on China’s use of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference as a diplomatic channel with North Korea. Michael is a 2026 Korea Society Kim Koo Fellow and an alum of the National Committee on North Korea’s “Knowing North Korea” workshop.

Michael earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, a Graduate Certificate in Chinese and American Studies from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, and a BS in International Relations from the United States Military Academy. Prior to graduate school, Michael worked as a management consultant specializing in supply chain and procurement.

Michael’s research interests focus on the evolving alliance dynamics in Northeast Asia and their impact on international security in the broader Indo-Pacific. He is particularly interested in China-North Korea relations and the U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral. He also studies China’s military modernization and its defense innovation ecosystem.

Syrus Solo Jin

Syrus Solo Jin is a historian of the US military, foreign policy, and US-East Asian relations. He is currently the Elihu Rose Scholar in Modern Military History at New York University. He earned a Ph.D. with distinction from the University of Chicago.

He is currently working on his first book, under contract with the University of Pennsylvania Press, which examines the grassroots dynamics and conflicts of U.S. military assistance and training programs in Asia during the Cold War. His interests lie at the intersection of transnational military networks, diplomacy, race, culture, and understanding foreign policy from the bottom-up.

Jin’s public and policy-facing writings have appeared in Foreign Policy, the South China Morning Post, Time Magazine, the Washington Post, Slate, Responsible Statecraft, and with the US Institute of Peace, covering topics such as U.S. foreign policy, military assistance, Japan-ROK relations, global defense industries, and more. Jin previously interned with the Quincy Institute and was a Kim Koo Fellow at the Korea Society.

Jiwon Kim

Jiwon Kim is a PhD student in the Human Security Program at the University of Tokyo and a Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholar, specializing in Japan-DPRK relations, North Korean human rights issues, and Korean Peninsula security. His work focuses on how humanitarian and human rights issues can open, or obstruct, diplomatic engagement with North Korea. His doctoral research examines the human rights situation of Zainichi Koreans and Japanese nationals repatriated to North Korea, and his peer-reviewed research on the 2014 Japan-DPRK Stockholm Agreement analyzes why that diplomatic opening collapsed and what it teaches about sustaining engagement.

Jiwon brings several years of frontline experience as well. At a North Korean human rights NGO, he designed and led investigations into human rights abuses in the DPRK, interviewing more than 300 North Korean escapees and advocating before Japanese government officials and UN human rights machinery. He later served as a Program Officer on the DPRK portfolio at the International Republican Institute (IRI), overseeing U.S. government-funded programs.

He writes regularly for policy audiences, with commentary in Nikkei Asia, The Diplomat, and The Interpreter on Japan-North Korea diplomacy and the prospects for renewed engagement. A Korean national based in Tokyo, Jiwon works across Korean, Japanese, and English, and holds master’s degrees in Public Policy from the University of Tokyo and in International Area Studies from Seoul National University.

Kaitlyn King

Kaitlyn King is an International Relations PhD student in the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security at American University’s School of International Service. Her research focuses on foreign policy decision-making, economic security, and leadership dynamics, with a regional emphasis on East Asia, particularly South Korea-Japan relations and trilateral cooperation with the United States. Her work examines evolving regional dynamics in Northeast Asia, particularly alliance management, diplomatic strategy, and opportunities for regional cooperation.

Kaitlyn holds an MA in International Affairs from George Washington University and a BA in International Relations from the University of Southern California. She has worked on a range of East Asian security and foreign policy issues, including with the Stimson Center’s 38 North and Korea Programs, where she conducted research on North Korea, South Korean domestic politics, and US-ROK policy. She also previously interned with the Korea Economic Institute of America, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaiʻi. As a research assistant with the University of Southern California’s Security and Political Economy Lab, she was a team lead for the International Political Economy project’s work updating and maintaining the World Economics and Politics Dataverse, supporting comparative and international political economy research.

Brice Tseen Fu Lee

Brice Tseen Fu Lee is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Universiti Malaya and is a Senior Researcher at the Faculty of Government, Universidad del Desarrollo. He holds a PhD in International Politics from Fudan University, an MA in Politics, Governance and Public Policy from the University of Sheffield, an MS in Management and Technology from Universiti Teknologi Brunei, and a BA in Business Administration from Universiti Brunei Darussalam. His research focuses on security studies, international political economy, and development in Southeast Asia and Latin America with a focus on US-China-Southeast Asia/Latin America relations.

Ikhyun Lee

Ikhyun Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at American University’s School of International Service. His research focuses on alliance politics, U.S.-China strategic competition, and Indo-Pacific security. His dissertation examines how shifts in the balance of power influence alliance management and cohesion, with particular attention to the policy challenges facing U.S. alliances in an era of strategic competition.

His current research combines quantitative analysis and historical case studies to explore the intersection of security and economic statecraft. A paper from this research agenda, examining how U.S. allies responded to economic decoupling from China following the U.S.-China trade war, was accepted for presentation at the 2026 International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention. His findings challenge conventional assumptions about alliance alignment and highlight the importance of effective alliance management in achieving long-term strategic objectives.

Beyond academia, Ikhyun is committed to bridging rigorous scholarship and practical policymaking. He was selected as one of fifteen Emerging Leaders in a joint initiative hosted by the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) and The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, where he contributed to a collaborative policy report on the future of U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation.

Originally from South Korea, Ikhyun served as a drill instructor in the Republic of Korea Air Force before pursuing graduate studies. He holds an M.A. in International Relations from Seoul National University and a B.A. in Economics and International Area Studies from Handong Global University. His long-term goal is to produce research that informs both academic debates and policy decisions on U.S. alliances, Korean Peninsula security, and the evolving Indo-Pacific order.

Kokoro Nishiyama

Kokoro Nishiyama is a PhD student in Global Humanities and Social Sciences at Nagasaki University and a Visiting Researcher at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA). Her current research examines how the concept of strategic stability in the US–ROK alliance should be reconceptualized in light of emerging technologies, with a particular focus on crisis stability on the Korean Peninsula.

She holds a BA from International Christian University (ICU) and an MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS). She has worked as a research intern at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) under the Japan Chair for World Without Nuclear Weapons Initiatives, and as a fellow at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

Beyond her academic work, she has contributed to youth engagement in global disarmament efforts, serving as a mentor for the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Youth4Disarmament (Y4D) initiative and representing Japanese youth at the inaugural Y4D Forum held at United Nations Headquarters. She brings a combination of policy research experience, international engagement, and a commitment to reducing nuclear risks in the Indo-Pacific.

Joel Petersson-Ivre

Joel Petersson-Ivre is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) in Seoul. His research interest lies in Northeast Asian nuclear issues, as well as South Korean and Chinese foreign policy. At APLN he has researched regional views of the US-China relationship, threat perceptions among states receiving extended deterrence guarantees from the United States, the domestic South Korean nuclear debate, and engagement strategies with North Korea. His work has appeared in The Diplomat, Korea PRO, Korea Times, East Asia Forum, and the Institute for Security and Development Studies (ISDP).

He received his master’s degree from Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies in East Asian Studies and International Security and Foreign Policy, and his Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and Culture from Stockholm University. He is an alumnus of the Public Policy and Nuclear Threats Boot Camp, hosted by the University of California: San Diego. He has held internships at East Asia Institute in Seoul and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Joel is from Sweden but has spent a decade in South Korea. He speaks English, Korean, Chinese and Swedish.

Yuichi Yoshida

Yuichi Yoshida is the inaugural LEAP (Leaders in East Asia for Peace) Fellow and a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Advanced Innovation and GeoStrategy (RAIS), both at the International House of Japan (I-House). Established in 1952, I-House is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes intellectual dialogue, policy research, and cultural exchange. Through the LEAP Fellowship, he is currently based at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, an independent, nonpartisan think tank specializing in foreign policy and international security.

Yoshida’s research focuses on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific; Japan-ROK relations and U.S.-Japan-ROK security cooperation; and the security implications of critical and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and uncrewed systems. He also studies European and Russian energy security and the foreign and security policies of Central and Eastern Europe. At RAIS, he tracks South Korea’s AI and drone policies and examines opportunities for regional technology and security cooperation.

Before joining I-House, Yoshida was a Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), where he worked on Indo-Pacific security and emerging technologies. He led a study group on emerging technologies, organized Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues with regional counterparts, and convened expert and public events on drones and cybersecurity. Earlier, he served in the Political Section of the Embassy of Japan in Bulgaria, covering diplomacy, defense, and energy security.

In 2026, Yoshida was selected as a member of Japan’s delegation to the Young Trilateral Leaders’ Summit. His recent publications include “Lessons for Japan from Russia’s war in Ukraine” in The Japan Times; the co-authored Nikkei Asia article “Japan can be a hub and ‘guardian’ for the submarine cable system”; and a chapter on Japan in Risk and Threat Perception in the Indo-Pacific.

Yoshida earned a BA in Policy Management from Keio University and an MSc in EU Politics from the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).