At the turn of the millennium, the relations of the three great nations of East Asia-China, Korea, and Japan-hang in the balance. Distrust and resentment, a legacy of decades of conflict in the 19th and 20th centuries shadow prospects for a brighter era of peace and cooperation in the 21st. Today, the peoples of East Asia are increasingly engaged in trade and cultural exchange. They are also arming themselves against the prospect of future belligerence.