Rob Rapson

Senior US diplomat (ret) whose 39-year career spanned the Indo-Pacific region from Korea & Japan to Southeast Asia and India.

[ジョージ・グラス駐日米国大使 @USAmbJapan]

Thirty-one years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake devastated Kobe, the city and its people remain an inspiring symbol of resilience and recovery for the world. Just as American personnel supported relief efforts in the aftermath of that disaster in 1995, the United States stands ready to help its partner and friend in any calamity or crisis.

[조현 외교부 장관 FM Cho Hyun @FMChoHyun]

어제 방한한 미국 외교정책위원회(NCAFP) 대표단과 만찬을 갖고 한미동맹과 지역 정세를 논의했습니다. 두 차례 정상회담에서 확인된 공감대를 토대로 원자력·조선·핵추진잠수함 등 핵심 분야 협력을 더욱 가속화하겠다는 정부의 의지를 설명했고, 한미동맹을 보다 호혜적이고 미래지향적으로 발전시키겠다는 입장을 강조했습니다. 아울러 그간 한미관계 강화에 기여해 온 NCAFP의 지속적인 역할도 요청했습니다.
I hosted a dinner yesterday for the visiting NCAFP delegation and discussed the ROK-U.S. alliance and regional developments. Building on the momentum of the two recent summits, I stressed our commitment to facilitate cooperation in nuclear energy, shipbuilding, and nuclear-powered submarines, and to steering the alliance in a more mutually beneficial, future-oriented direction. I also encouraged the NCAFP to continue its vital role in deepening understanding of the alliance within the U.S. policy community.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

Indeed, the Nagasaki and Hiroshima Peace Memorial ceremonies are powerful occasions for sober reflection and observance, collectively and individually. I was deeply honored to have been the senior USG representative at the Nagasaki ceremony (2017) and at Hiroshima (2016 & 2017).

[ジョージ・グラス駐日米国大使 @USAmbJapan]

On this sobering morning, in this serene place, we remember the past, honor the strength and dedication of the Nagasaki people over 80 years, and recommit ourselves to the pursuit and preservation of peace.

[Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) @KoreaEconInst]

Could North Korea be next on the list for renewed diplomacy under Trump’s second term? In this new analysis, KEI's non-resident fellow Daniel Sneider explores the potential for another round of U.S.-North Korea engagement and what it might look like today.

Read the full article: https://t.co/Yl83sdoFsy

#USNorthKoreaRelations #Diplomacy #KEI

[Patrick M. Cronin @PMCroninHudson]

(News Focus) Experts raise need to stress S. Korea's contribution to U.S. economy to counter Trump's view on Korea https://t.co/0jPjbdtuzM @PMCroninHudson South Korea needs to: 1) reduce its hefty $61B trade surplus; 2) address perceived tariff issues (renegotiating KORUS FTA if necessary); 3) incentivize new investments in shipbuilding, semiconductor chips, energy & other areas (without expecting CHIPS Act); 4) increase defense spending above 3%; and 5) shoulder more alliance costs
@VictorDCha @POTUS #CHIPSAct @USTradeRep @AndrewIYeo @bwbennett @robert_rapson @jamiesongreer @SecRubio #SongSangho

[John Delury @JohnDelury]

My thoughts on the democracy crisis in Seoul & what next, via @ForeignAffairs

https://t.co/DPjwVvJa9C

[John Delury @JohnDelury]

Opportune moment for a long read in @EngelsbergIdeas from @JNilssonWright who as fate would have it was in Seoul on the fateful night of Dec 3. John offers many insights into underlying forces & factors behind the protracted crisis in Korea-- https://t.co/Fau8jArYpD

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

5) Today, exactly thirty years since that indelible, life-altering experience in Kobe, our special thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and the heroic responders of the LA fires disaster.

#Kobe #disasterresponse

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

3) Our small US Consulate community rallied in support of each other, with officers and our Japanese local staff deploying to both assist and account for American citizens in the devastated area, and to help support the massive overall emergency relief effort.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

4) In 2016, my wife and I visited Kobe’s impressive earthquake museum and were deeply moved by the exhibits honoring the victims, explaining in great detail what had happened, and paying tribute to those who assisted with the emergency response and contributed to Kobe’s recovery.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

2) The 7.2 mega-quake, and the unnerving series of major aftershocks that followed for weeks, would end up claiming 6000 lives (including a dozen+ in our immediate neighborhood), 40,000 injured, and over a 100,000 displaced from their damaged or destroyed homes.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

1) The Kobe Quake - A personal reflection: Slammed out of bed at 0546 on Jan 17, 1995, with sounds of crashing furniture and groaning walls all around us in our pitch-black US Consulate compound apartment in Nishinomiya, we were among the fortunate that day in the Kobe area.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

3/ Focus now remains rightly on the Constitutional Court expeditiously carrying out its duty to rule on Yoon’s impeachment by the National Assembly, which, if upheld, will immediately remove him from office followed by a presidential election.

https://t.co/5okqXPNaJo

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

1) Good exhange Friday evening with BBC World News anchor Helena Humphrey on Yoon impeachment drama in Seoul and way forward, plus Blinken trip to Korea this week.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

2/ Unfortunately, no opportunity to also discuss the unabashed spectacle of Yoon and his far-right supporters invoking parts of the Trump “playbook” in a seeming effort to somehow elicit a lifeline from the President-elect.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

4) But as I have been saying recently, I think Han can rise to the occasion and prove an able counterpart and interlocutor with 2.0 during this crucial interim period, and even more so if he has a modicum of bipartisan support, which he’ll have to earn.

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

1) Whither Han Duck-soo: In what likely will be the final act of his long career of public service, acting-Pres Han can best serve his country at this moment of profound crisis/polarization by striving for a middle path of compromise and neutrality.

https://t.co/u7NOcmnfou

[Rob Rapson @robert_rapson]

3) As for dealing effectively with Pres Trump and all the uncertainties of 2.0, which weighs heavily on Korea, that was going to be a tough task anyway, even for an elected leader let alone a caretaker President.

[Michelle Ye Hee Lee @myhlee]

South Korea is no stranger to disgraced presidents. Nonetheless, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s downfall is unique even by South Korean standards.

Gift link to our political analysis of how Yoon became the nation's third president to face impeachment:
https://t.co/9zb7G2lC4Z