Frank Aum is a U.S. national security and foreign policy expert with two decades of leadership in government, think tanks, academia, and law and a recognized authority on Korean Peninsula strategy and Northeast Asia regional affairs.
Most recently, he was the senior expert on Northeast Asia at the United States Institute of Peace, where he focused on ways to strengthen diplomacy to reduce tensions and enhance peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. From 2010 to 2017, he worked at the Department of Defense, including as special counsel to the Army General Counsel, special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, and senior advisor on the Korean Peninsula in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During this time, he advised four secretaries of defense on issues related to Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula. Aum also served as the head of delegation for working level negotiations with the Republic of Korea on U.S.-ROK Alliance matters, and received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.
He has been published and quoted widely in top-tier media and policy journals, including the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Foreign Affairs, The Diplomat, War on the Rocks, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and 38 North. He is currently a member of the board of directors for the National Committee on North Korea.
Aum previously worked as a corporate attorney and has extensive experience in the public and non-profit sectors. He completed a Fulbright Scholarship in Jeju Island, South Korea and worked as a speechwriter in the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In addition, he worked to strengthen the Koreatown community in Los Angeles at the city’s Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Korean American Coalition (KAC). Aum received his AB from Dartmouth College, his MPP from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and his JD from the University of California, Berkeley.
Recent publications include:
- A 2020 report that examined the key aspects, opportunities, and challenges of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula
- A 2022 report that described a “peace game” tabletop exercise aimed at enhancing diplomatic risk-taking with North Korea
- A 2022 Foreign Affairs article examining the empirical evidence related to engaging and pressuring North Korea
- Editor of a 2022 essay series on new and creative approaches to resolving bilateral tensions between Japan and South Korea
- Editor of a 2024 essay series that explored peaceful coexistence with North Korea