SPRING 2008
Forging a 21st Century U.S.-Korea Alliance: Identifying Obstacles and Opportunities (audio and transcripts available)
This one-day symposium, co-sponsored by The Hwajeong Peace Foundation of Dong-A Ilbo, addressed a number of issues which factor into the current health and future of U.S. relations with Korea. Featured speakers included U.S. Congressmen Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Ed Royce (R-CA), as well as U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz. Expert panels explored such issues as freedom, democracy, human rights, market economy, and the implications of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement for future U.S.-Korean ties.
North Korea's Nuclear Program - Assessment and a Path Forward
Dr. Siegfried S. Hecker, Co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University reports on his third visit to North Korea's closely guarded nuclear facility at Yongbyon. He assesses the dangers of the DPRK nuclear program and suggests a path toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
New Beginnings: Toward a New Era of U.S.-South Korean Partnership (report available)
Members of New Beginnings, a nonpartisan study group of former senior U.S. officials, academics and other experts on Korea, announced their recommendations for strengthening the U.S.-ROK alliance after meeting with President Lee Myung-bak. The event was co-sponsored by USKI, The Korea Society and Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and featured commentary and analysis by experts from all three institutions.
North Korea's Nukes: The Arsenal that Got Away
David Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times, examines the legacy that the Bush Administration leaves to its successor on the Korean Peninsula: a significantly greater North Korean nuclear weapons capability and a policy that has veered from pressing for regime change to negotiating with a country that was once labeled a charter member of the "Axis of Evil."
Lee Myung Bak's North Korea Policy: Narrow Path Ahead
Dr. Deok Ryong Yoon, Senior Research Fellow of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and SAIS Fulbright Visiting Scholar, analyzes the economic and political aspects of policies that the new South Korean administration may adopt towards North Korea, and presents an overview of policy choices over the past ten years.
A Book Discussion with Ha-Joon Chang
Ha-Joon Chang, author of Kicking Away the Ladder (2002), challenges conventional ideas of economic orthodoxy and free trade in his most recent publication, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. He examines the past to show that today's economic superpowers–from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea–all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry.