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Professor Easley explains why Beijing’s policy did not get as tough on North Korea as external observers had hoped — but also why China is not simply adopting a pro-Pyongyang stance now.
“Why China takes a Middle-of-the-road Policy toward North Korea,” Washington Post Monkey Cage, February 28, 2019; https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/28/why-china-takes-middle-of-the-road-policy-toward-north-korea.

About Experts

Leif-Eric Easley
Leif-Eric Easley

Visiting Research Fellow

Dr. Leif-Eric EASLEY is a visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Dr. Easley is also an associate professor of International Studies at Ewha Womans University where he teaches international security and political economics. His research interests include contested national identities and changing levels of trust in the bilateral security relationships of Northeast Asia. He was the Northeast Asian History Fellow at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University. He was also a visiting scholar at Yonsei University and the University of Southern California’s Korean Studies Institute. He is actively involved in US-Asia dialogues (Track II diplomacy) with the Asan Institute and the Pacific Forum-Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Dr. Easley received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.