Sydney Seiler was the national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council from 2020 to 2023 and is one of the nation’s top experts on North Korea. Previously, he was the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) senior analyst and senior defense intelligence expert for North Korea from 2016 to 2020, serving as the principal adviser and senior expert on Korean Peninsula security issues to the USFK commander and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Enterprise. Mr. Seiler also served as the U.S. special envoy for Six Party Talks (2014–2015), where he coordinated U.S. diplomacy and policy on the DPRK and led negotiations with North Korea. Prior to that, Mr. Seiler served as the director for Korea on the National Security Council (2011–2014). A member of the Senior National Intelligence Service, Mr. Seiler has over 40 years of experience focusing on Korean Peninsula affairs in a range of executive management, intelligence, and policy positions within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Analysis, the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, the CIA’s Open Source Center, and the National Security Agency. He has three decades of experience watching North Korea and 12 years of serving in South Korea. He received his MA degree in Korean studies from Yonsei University and is a graduate of the Korean language programs of the Defense Language Institute and Yonsei University.

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The Impossible State

The Four Talent Giants

Mr. Sydney Seiler moderated a discussion with Stanford professor Gi‑Wook Shin about The Four Talent Giants, focusing on how four countries built and sustained economic power while managing demographic decline, brain drain, and geopolitical pressures. Shin highlighted his Four Bs framework—brain train, brain gain, brain circulation, and brain linkage

Podcast Episode by Sydney Seiler and Gi-Wook Shin — March 2, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast
The Impossible State

North Korea in 2026: Intentions, Realities, and Response

Sydney Seiler, Dr. Patrick Cronin, Rachel Minyoung Lee, and Markus Garlauskas discussed North Korea's direction in 2026 and what to expect from Kim Jong Un in terms of the diplomatic front with Moscow, Beijing, the ROK, the U.S., and more.

Podcast Episode by Sydney Seiler — February 2, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast
The Impossible State

Recalibrating U.S.-ROK Alliance: Strategic Priorities for 2026

In this episode, Mr. Sydney Seiler moderated a discussion with Dr. Chansong Lee and Dr. Bee Yun Jo of the Sejong Institute on the overall outlook of the U.S.–South Korea alliance leading up to 2026, including extended deterrence, the Nuclear Consultative Group, the OPCON transfer, shipbuilding, and other strategic issues.

Podcast Episode by Sydney Seiler, Chansong Lee, and Bee Yun Jo — January 16, 2026

The Impossible State Podcast

Indo-Pacific Forecast 2026

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy (GFP) Department's annual preview of political, economic, and security developments across the region.

Event — January 14, 2026