On March 26-27, Seoul will host the second Nuclear Security Summit, an initiative established by the Obama administration in Washington in 2010. Fifty world leaders, as well as scores of NGOs and industry and business representatives on the periphery of the central meeting, will discuss the summit’s main aim: to prevent loose nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists. Naturally, different regional actors will have different agendas and priorities for the summit, and it is therefore important to consider the issues and concerns for Northeast Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and former Soviet states and stakeholders.

Youzhen Xu, Wilson Center ECNU Scholar will give a presentation on the U.S., the PRC, the UK and the issue of Korean War POWs.

Korea Foundation Junior Scholars Ria Chae and Chaeryung Lee will present the results of their research conducted at the Woodrow Wilson Center from July 2011 through February 2012.

Agriculture has often been a stumbling block in free trade negotiations. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), often seen as the economic component of the Obama Administration’s “Asia pivot,” is no exception. Can Japan’s leadership, which has indicated a willingness to join the TPP, surmount resistance from its domestic agricultural lobby? Is the TPP attractive to countries like Korea, which has enthusiastically negotiated separate bilateral free trade agreements, most notably with the United States? What are the problems and opportunities in the agreement for American agricultural producers? How do nations like New Zealand, an agricultural powerhouse and original member of the TPP, view the negotiating positions of potential new members to the agreement?