In the early autumn of 2016, there were repeated seminars and exchanges in Seoul and Washington, DC on three interrelated topics: how to respond effectively to the North Korean threat, how to manage Sino-US relations with North Korea more than the South China Sea in the forefront, and how South Korea should reassert its drive for multilateral security architecture in Northeast Asia. The choices had sharpened. US impatience was palpable. South Korean nervousness was growing. There was greater anticipation than in many years that some turning point was in sight, but what was it: a shift in the geopolitical center of gravity, a shakeup in bilateral ties that had seemed relatively fixed, a confrontation that could lead to a new Cold War? These themes serve as a backdrop for assessing the 2016 South Korean realignment.

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