Dealing with North Korea and its nuclear threat

The 8th joint workshop of the Jeju Peace Institute and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation reviewed the achievements and failures of responses to the North Korean nuclear threat. Experts from Korea, Japan, Austria and the USA also analysed the objectives and strategies of the new security policies of major East Asian countries and the USA, which recently experienced leadership transitions. 

In his keynote speech, Ambassador Cho Taeyong, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focused on President Park Geun Hye’s Trustpolitik approach. Joel S. Wit of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University advised against a tacit acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear state. Heinz Gärtner of the Austrian Institute for International Affairs concluded that it is important to keep North Korea engaged to reduce the likelihood of confrontation and to support an environment conducive to exchange and interaction. Lee Ji-Yong of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy analysed the Trustbuilding Process on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee Keum-soon of the Korean Institute for National Unification explained North Korea’s perspective and gave insights into the North Korean people’s perception of their country’s nuclear development. Ohn Daewon of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies talked about China’s policy towards North Korea under the Xi Jinping Leadership. Last not least, Takesada Hideshi of Takushoku University Tokyo presented Japan’s security policy towards North Korea under the Abe government.