Donggak Heo is a Nonresident James A. Kelly Fellow at Pacific Forum and a former Policy Aide at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. He also serves on the Ministry of National Defense’s 2030 Youth Advisory Group. He holds an MA in International Relations with Distinction from Durham University and a BA in Philosophy from Korea University. His research focuses on Korean Peninsula security, U.S.-ROK alliance politics, North Korean regime dynamics, and Indo-Pacific strategy. His commentary has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, and East Asia Forum, covering North Korean leadership succession, sanctions and nuclear diplomacy, U.S.-ROK-Japan technology cooperation, South Korea’s digital sovereignty, and its emerging security role in the Middle East. His master’s research examined economic security strategies in South Korea and Taiwan amid intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition.