Kayla T. Orta is a Nonresident Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Professionally fluent in Korean, Orta most recently worked as the Senior Associate at the Wilson Center’s Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy. A former US Department of Defense NSEP Boren Scholar, her regional expertise lies in US-Republic of Korea (ROK) ties, North Korea, and US-ROK-Japan trilateral relations. Her work focuses on nonproliferation, nuclear deterrence, and civil nuclear energy markets. Orta’s recent articles on US-Indo-Pacific relations include “US-ROK Global Strategic Partnership in the Indo-Pacific,” “Defending Energy Security Pathways: US-ROK-Japan Strategic Cooperation,” and “Strength in Partnership: Elevating US-ROK Cooperation in Nuclear Energy.” She is also the editor of, Avoiding Meltdowns & Blackouts: Confidence-building in Inter-Korean Engagement on Nuclear Safety and Energy Development, which features insights from US and South Korean nuclear policy experts.

She holds an MIS in Korean Studies from Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies. Her thesis, written in Korean, analyzed US and South Korean foreign policy strategies during the 1994 North Korean Nuclear Crisis.