Heritage Expert

Bruce Klingner Download Hi-Res

Bruce Klingner

  • Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia

Bruce Klingner is the Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center.

Klingner joined Heritage in 2007 after 20 years in the intelligence community working at the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency. In 1993, he was the selected as Chief of CIA's Korea Branch which provided analytic reports on military developments during the nuclear crisis with North Korea. From 1996-2001, Klingner was the Deputy Chief for Korea in the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence where he was responsible for analyzing Korean political, military, economic and leadership issues for the president and other senior policymakers.

His articles have appeared in The Financial Times, The Washington Times, USA Today, Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo, Korea Herald, Korea Times, Seoul Shinmun, Kukmin Daily, Far Eastern Economic Review, Nikkei Weekly, The Asia Times, the Korea and World Affairs journal, International Journal of Korean Studies, the Korea Policy Review journal, and Yale Politic. His comments and analysis have appeared in CNN, CNN International, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox News TV, C-Span TV, BBC TV, SBS (Korea) TV, KBS (Korea) TV, NHK (Japan) TV, Arirang (Japan) TV, Al Jazeerra TV, The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Fortune, Newsweek, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, New Republic, National Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Presse, Defense News, Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan Times, Mainichi Shimbun, Kyodo News, Sekai Nippo, Sankei Daily.

Before coming to Heritage, Klingner spent several years at the Eurasia Group, a global political risk assessment firm. As the firm's primary Korea analyst, he wrote articles and analyses for most major Asian and American newspapers. He also was a frequent panelist in policy forums around Washington. Before working at Eurasia, he worked as the Director of Analysis and Senior Asia Analyst at the Intellibridge Corp., which provided intelligence and analysis to government and business decision-makers.

Klingner is a distinguished graduate of the National War College where he earned a master's degree in national security strategy in 2002. He also earned a master's in strategic intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College and has a bachelor's degree in political science from Middlebury College in Vermont. He is active in Korean martial arts and has attained third degree black belt in tae kwon do and first degree black belt in hapkido and teuk kong moo sool.

All Publications by Bruce Klingner
  • Issue Brief posted April 12, 2012 by Bruce Klingner North Korean Missile Launch Demands Strong U.S. Response

    North Korea defied international pressure and launched its Unha-3 missile on April 12. U.S. and South Korean officials indicate that the missile failed several minutes after launch. Although Pyongyang had characterized the launch as that of a peaceful civilian satellite, it is a blatant violation of existing U.N. Security Council…

  • Backgrounder posted April 10, 2012 by Bruce Klingner Uncertainties over North Korea’s Leadership Transition: Broader Contingency Planning Is Essential for Regional Stability

    Abstract: An inexperienced young man—Kim Jong-un—is, at least for the moment, in control of North Korea, the world’s most volatile nuclear power. While this scenario might sound like the plot line of a Hollywood blockbuster, for America and…

  • Issue Brief posted March 23, 2012 by Bruce Klingner U.S. Should Allow South Korea to Extend Its Missile Range

    As President Obama travels to South Korea for next week’s nuclear summit, North Korea’s threat to launch a missile in mid-April will overshadow the gathering of world leaders. The United States and South Korea should work the room to prepare a strong international response to yet another North Korean violation…

  • Issue Brief posted March 16, 2012 by Bruce Klingner North Korea Missile Announcement Undermines Diplomatic Outreach

    North Korea announced that it would launch a satellite in mid-April, a provocative move that jeopardizes a recent diplomatic agreement with the United States. Despite Pyongyang’s attempts to portray the launch as a peaceful civilian satellite program, it would be an unequivocal violation of U.N. resolutions 1718 and 1874, which…

  • Issue Brief posted February 29, 2012 by Bruce Klingner North Korean Nuclear Freeze: A Positive but Limited Development

    Washington has announced that North Korea has acquiesced to several longstanding U.S. and South Korean demands related to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs. North Korea’s agreement to freeze its nuclear activities under international observation marks a major reversal after nearly four years of refusal. The development is particularly surprising since it…

  • WebMemo posted February 8, 2012 by Bruce Klingner White House Deal with Japan Risks Military Capability in Asia

    On February 8, the United States and Japan jointly announced changes to the existing bilateral accord for realigning U.S. Marines on Okinawa. While both sides affirmed commitment to relocating a Marine air unit on the island, more significantly, the Obama Administration abandoned longstanding U.S. insistence that Japan fulfill pre-conditional commitments…

  • WebMemo posted January 6, 2012 by Bruce Klingner The Missing Asia Pivot in Obama's Defense Strategy

    President Obama’s new defense strategy is long on rhetoric but bereft of details on how it will actually be implemented. The President boldly promised to maintain or augment U.S. military capabilities against a spectrum of global threats, but planned draconian defense cuts of $1 trillion would undermine the U.S.’s ability…

  • WebMemo posted December 7, 2011 by Bruce Klingner, Baker Spring North Korean Missiles a Growing Risk to the U.S.

    North Korea is developing a road-mobile ICBM, expanding the future threat to the United States beyond the Taepo Dong 2 long-range missile that would be launched from fixed sites. U.S. intelligence information disclosed to Congress last month reportedly identified recent North Korean progress on the mobile missile system, though no…

  • Backgrounder posted December 6, 2011 by Dean Cheng, Bruce Klingner Defense Budget Cuts Will Devastate America’s Commitment to the Asia–Pacific

    Abstract: The failure of the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (“Super Committee”) to come to agreement on reducing the federal deficit raises the real prospect of a total of $1 trillion in …

  • Backgrounder posted October 19, 2011 by Bruce Klingner South Korea: Taking the Right Steps to Defense Reform

    Abstract: South Korea has initiated a series of extraordinary defense reforms. These reforms are commendable and will redress many of South Korea’s security shortcomings. Seoul will be hampered in these efforts, however, by demographic and fiscal constraints. Yet such barriers must be overcome; an…

View All
View All
View All
View All
Contact Bruce Klingner

Request an Interview with A Heritage Expert

Please complete the following form to request an interview with a Heritage expert.
Please note that all fields must be completed.

Your Information



Type of Interview Subject of Interview Your Message
Areas of Expertise
Search Research
Search
Our Work
View All
View All
View All
ABOUT The HERITAGE FOUNDATION

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with nearly 700,000 individual, foundation and corporate donors. Heritage, founded in February 1973, a staff of 275 and an annual expense budget of $82.4 million.

Our mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Read More

Our Initiatives
especially for
 
receive updates & newsletters

Receive updates from Heritage about current events and initiatives in your email inbox

http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/k/bruce-klingner?fb=true#foot_anchor

© 2012, The Heritage Foundation
Conservative policy research since 1973