South Korea stands at the vortex of three geopolitical triangles and also in the shadow of the North Korean menace to regional stability. All of these trilateral configurations in the final months of 2016 are in the process of transformation and could evolve in unexpected ways. Foremost in most minds is the US-Japan-ROK alliance triangle, which any Hillary Clinton pivot 2.0 might be poised to prioritize with emphasis on strengthening the weak Japan-ROK leg. More uncertain is the fate of the China-Japan-South Korea (CJK) core East Asian triangle already with its own secretariat and ready to be tested with a planned Japan-hosted summit by year’s end, should China agree to attend. Not to be overlooked is the northern triangle of Russia, Japan, South Korea, which was showcased on September 2, 2016, in Vladivostok at the Eastern Economic Forum, where Vladimir Putin, Abe Shinzo, and Park Geun-hye shared a panel about the future of the Russian Far East. The purpose of this article is to assess South Korea’s realignment in 2016 through the prism of trilateralism while also keeping the challenge of an increasingly aggressive North Korea in mind for its triangular impact.

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