Current Situation in the Korean Peninsula

On Friday, April 19th, the Korean office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty hosted a lecture event for its former scholarship holders at Ewha Womans University. Approximately twenty people were able to attend Resident Representative Dr. Lars-André Richter’s one-hour lecture entitled “Eine starke und wohlhabende Nation: Nordkorea zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit” (“A strong and prosperous Nation: North Korea between Ambition and Reality”), in which he described the foundation’s visit to North Korea a month earlier, but also analyzed the current state of affairs and possible outcomes of the tense situation on the Korean peninsula.

During the subsequent 20-minute discussion session, participants were able to express their own opinions and asked questions regarding the economic impact of a prolonged crisis, the role of China in solving it, and the way the South Korean government could handle the situation.

Dr. Richter pointed out that while there seemingly is a contradiction between North Korea’s proclaimed desire for economic development and its recent provocative actions, such as the temporary withdrawal of all workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, he still holds hope that the country would eventually return to the economic-growth-oriented path. In fact, during discussions in Pyongyang, North Korean government officials showed interest in learning from Germany’s expertise in urban planning and development.