POLITICS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA
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.
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 newly elected South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak.
South Korea's Presidential Elections: Growing Pains of a Young Democracy
Charles K. Armstrong, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University; Haeran Lim, Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Associate Professor and Chair of Seoul National University's Political Science Department; and Kristin Burke, Research Associate at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC); discuss the main factors which contributed to Lee Myung-bak's landslide victory in South Korea's 2007 presidential election such as dissatisfaction with Roh Moo-hyun's presidential record and Lee Myung-bak's perceived competence on issues concerning the Korean economy.
IRP Gatekeeper Editors Report from Korea (audio and report available)
The International Reporting Project at SAIS (IRP) and USKI discuss the findings of the IRP report, Crossing the Divide: IRP Gatekeeper Editors Cover the Two Koreas. This report was based on a ten-day fact finding mission to Korea, where they interviewed a wide cross-section of leaders in government, politics, business, health, academics, media and other walks of life. This mission coincided with a trip to North Korea by a U.S. technical team sent to dismantle North Korea's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
The U.S. in Korea: The Economic Dimension (audio available)
Tami Overby, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (better known as AMCHAM), along with Seok Young Choi, Minister of Economic Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and key U.S. business representatives, analyze the strategic opportunities of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).
The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy (audio available)
Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Diplomatic Correspondent, discusses his book, The Confidante: Condoleeza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy. The book is a detailed and newsy look at Rice's tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, including her policies toward North Korea, the Middle East, Europe and terrorism.
Failed Diplomacy (audio available)
Charles L. Pritchard presented the findings of his book, Failed Diplomacy: The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb. Pritchard was intimately involved in the development of U.S. policy toward North Korea for both the Bush and Clinton administrations, and offers his unique insights on the steps and missteps which characterize North Korea's nuclear policy.
U.S.–Korea Relations: Celebrating 125 Years of Friendship
One hundred twenty–five years of friendship between the United States and Korea were celebrated on May 21 in cooperation with Korus House and the Sejong Society of D.C. Festivities included an afternoon of history, ceremony, music and the introduction of the sapsaree dogs, a unique breed, which has been designated a national treasure of Korea.
John Endicott, a noted scholar at Georgia Institute of Technology described the colorful history between the two countries since they negotiated the first treaty of amity in 1882 signed by Commodore R.W. Shufeldt, Shin Chen and Chin Hong Chi. Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, gave the keynote marking the strength of the relationship and calling on more nations to follow Korea's path to democracy.
State-SAIS Forum (audio and transcripts available)
The U.S. Department of State and the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS jointly hosted The United States and the Republic of Korea: Dialogues on the Relationship, featuring Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless.
Seoul-Washington: Where Do We Stand? (audio available)
Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, discusses the health of U.S.-Korean relations under the Bush Administration including the implications of the vast number of Korean Americans, Koreans entering the U.S. each year, and the KORUS FTA, the largest free trade agreement since NAFTA.
Report from Pyongyang: North Korea's Nuclear Future (audio and remarks available)
David Albright, a physicist and President of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), and Joel Wit, the Agreed Framework Coordinator at the U.S. State Department since 1995 and Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution in Foreign Policy Studies, offer their insights on North Korea's nuclear future based on discussions in Pyongyang prior to the Six Party Talks.
Kim Jong Il and the Prospects for Korean Unification (transcript available)
Former South Korean Minister of Unification, Chung Dong Young, is among the few outsiders to have had extensive discussions with Kim Jong Il. He offers his unique insights on the nature of North and South Korean relations and the potential for future cooperation.
The U.S. and North Korea: Observations of an Intermediary (audio available)
Kenneth Quinones, former North Korean country director for the U.S. Department of State, discussed observations and frustrations of serving as an intermediary between the North Korean Mission in New York and the Department of State from 2004 to 2006.
Biography of a Bomb: Portrait of the North Korea Nuclear Program (audio available)
Four experts, including USKI's Visiting Scholar, Kathryn Weathersby, Ph.D., a historian of North Korea's nuclear development and author of "Kim Il Sung's Nuclear Plans," discuss the history and making of North Korea's nuclear program. A detailed history of the development of Yongbyon is also provided by panelist, David Albright, author of "The Rise of the Nuclear Facilities at Yongbyon" and President of the Institute for Science and International Security.
The Inauguration Ceremony of the U.S.-Korea Institute (video and remarks available)
The Inauguration of the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS brought together the seven living ambassadors to the Republic of Korea. Keynote speakers included, ROK Ambassador Lee Tae-Sik and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill. As well, five former U.S. ambassadors to the ROK, James R. Lilley, James T. Laney, Donald Gregg, Stephen W. Bosworth, Thomas C. Hubbard discussed their views regarding the future of the Korean peninsula.