Korea Project

Featured Posting

New Evidence on Clinton Administration Negotiations with North Korea

Washington, D.C., June 18, 2020 – American and South Korean assessments of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il shifted during the course of negotiations in the 1990s over the North’…

Jun 18, 2020

Previous Postings

The United States and the North Korea Nuclear Threat

Feb 26, 2019

Engaging North Korea II: Evidence from the Clinton Administration

Dec 8, 2017

Engaging North Korea: Evidence from the Bush I Administration

Nov 8, 2017

How Do You Solve a Problem like (South) Korea?

Jun 1, 2017

The United States and the Two Koreas, Part II: 1969-2010

Jun 5, 2014

USS Pueblo: LBJ Considered Nuclear Weapons, Naval Blockade, Ground Attacks in Response to 1968 North Korean Seizure of Navy Vessel, Documents Show

Jan 23, 2014

Reading the North Korean Tea Leaves: The Perpetual Struggle to Fathom Pyongyang's Motives and Goals

Apr 11, 2013

Trilateralism and Beyond

Jul 6, 2012

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Korea?

Jun 23, 2010

See More Postings

About this Project

The project on U.S. policies regarding the two Koreas produced two major collections of declassified documents covering the years from 1969 to 2010. These documents open a window on U.S. policies regarding a critical national security challenge born of the Cold War. The primary focus of these sets was on U.S. management of its alliance with South Korea and efforts to deal with North Korea’s challenges to security and stability on the Korean Peninsula, most importantly Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. Currently the project is working to secure declassification of records dealing with the 1994 nuclear crisis with North Korea and the Framework Agreement that resolved it.

Project Director

Dr. Robert A. Wampler has been with the Archive since 1993. In addition to the Korea Project, he directed the project on U.S.-Japan relations and currently also directs projects on climate change diplomacy, the United States and the Tibet issue since the 1970s, and the history of the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment. He has also contributed to Archive projects on NATO and Henry Kissinger. Dr. Wampler received his doctorate in History at Harvard University, where he worked with the late Ernest R. May, who was a member of the Archive’s Advisory Board.

Blog Posts

What Would Cheney Advise Trump on North Korea?

Nov 8, 2017

Deciphering North Korea’s “Persistent Demand” to be Taken Seriously

Sep 13, 2013

Kim Jong Un: Following in his Father’s and Grandfather’s Footsteps, or Charting New Seas?

Apr 11, 2013

Tackling Bullies in the Schoolyard: North Korea, Bad Behavior and Military Options

Jul 7, 2010

No FOIA Request Needed: The Oberdorfer Korea Collection

Oct 29, 2009

More >>

In the Media

Alone time: Trump, Kim Jong Un ditch aides to meet 1 on 1

Fox News

Jun 11, 2018

How to read North Korea’s offer of talks

The Economist

Mar 6, 2018

North and South Korea agree: Neither wants defections during Olympic Games

USA Today

Jan 21, 2018

US foresaw a costly victory in war with NKorea — in 1994

The Associated Press

Dec 8, 2017

Dick Cheney once warned against military action on North Korea

Business Insider

Nov 9, 2017

Books

Trilateralism and Beyond: Great Power Politics and the Korean Security Dilemma During and After the Cold War (New Studies in U. S. Foreign Relations)
by Robert A Wampler

"A groundbreaking book on a vital and timely topic, one that gives a valuable historical perspective on the recurrent crisis on the Korean peninsula." - Charles K. Armstrong, Director, Center for Korean Research, Columbia University

Useful links:

North Korea International Documentations Project, Wilson Center

Critical Oral History Conference (COHC) Series, History and Public Policy Program, Wilson Center

Thank You

The National Security Archive wishes to thank the following for their generous support of the Korea Project. The work of the Korea documentation project was underwritten by funds from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, the Korea Foundation, the Asia Research Fund and the Korean Broadcasting System, which cooperated with the Archive in the production of documentaries that helped to disseminate the work of the Korea Project. Project support was also provided from the National Security Archive’s general support grants, such as the HKH Foundation and the Stewart R. Mott Charitable Trust.