Jung H. Pak, PhD

Very telling detail in this @nytimes story: the Trump administration's hopeful scenario for Iran is to find a bunch of corrupt IRGC guys who might be willing to shut down the nuclear program in exchange for keeping their kleptocracy "The CIA had produced a series of scenarios that might play out if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, were killed in an offensive." "One envisioned a hard-line cleric replacing Ayatollah Khamenei — perhaps even a leader more bent on acquiring a nuclear weapon. Another scenario predicted an uprising against the government, a possibility many intelligence officials thought was remote, given the weakness of Iran's opposition." "A number of senior Trump administration officials seized on a third scenario: that a faction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps more pragmatic than the hard-line clerics might take power... the CIA analysis suggested that as long as the United States did not interfere with the economic activities of this faction, such as its influence in the oil industry, a group of officers might be conciliatory toward the United States." nytimes.com/2026/03/02/us/…

Just a week after North Korea signaled openness to dialogue, the U.S. launched a military operation against Iran with a stated goal of regime change. buff.ly/9mjzw4a

How would Korea's close partners and allies react in case of conflict on the Korean Peninsula, especially when they themselves face strategic uncertainty? This new CSDS In-Depth Paper has some answers! Read csds.vub.be/publication/on…

CSDS is absolutely delighted to welcome our new Distinguished Associate Fellow, Jung H. Pak, PhD - welcome to the team! Dr Pak brings to CSDS a wealth of government, policy and academic experience. More info🔸 csds.vub.be/researcher/jun… @junghpak1

All of @BrookingsFP are thrilled to welcome @AndrewIYeo as the new SK-Korea Foundation Chair. He brings huge expertise on North & South Korea, US-Korea relations & critical regional policy issues. His arrival is the latest in a streak of brilliant new additions to our community⤵️

As I finish up @declanwalsh outstanding book on Pakistan, I've just settled on my next adventure. Becoming Kim Jong Un, by @junghpak1 I love the phrase "read promiscuously" which is how I intend to spend my summer.