DPRK’s Europe Ambassador:
Kim Pyong-il and DPRK Diplomacy in Europe
Dr. Nicolas Levi
Assistant Professor, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Mr. Ross Tokola (Moderator)
Executive Associate to the Director, East-West Center in Washington
Ms. Esther Im (Opening Remarks)
Program Manager, National Committee on North Korea
Tuesday July 19th, 2022
9:00 - 10:00 AM EDT / 3:00 - 4:00 PM Warsaw Time
Click here to find your local start time
Kim Pyong-il is the half brother to Kim Jong-il and uncle to current North Korea ruler Kim Jong Un. He spent 40 years in Europe as a foreign diplomat, and notably served as North Korea’s Ambassador to Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Just before the pandemic he returned to North Korea. Some have speculated, given his heritage, he could be a successor should anything happen to Kim Jong Un. Please join the National Committee on North Korea and the East-West Center in Washington for a North Korea in the World webinar for a discussion with Dr. Nicolas Levi on who Kim Pyong-il is and what role he has played in facilitating North Korea relations with Europe.
This North Korea in the World webinar is the second in a series examining North Korea’s historical and contemporary relations with countries in Europe and how European countries navigate relations between the United States, South Korea, and North Korea and balance national security and economic interests. The North Korea in the World project is a joint initiative of the National Committee on North Korea and the East-West Center in Washington; the NorthKoreaInTheWorld.org website collects and curates information and data on North Korea’s external economic and diplomatic relations.
This seminar will take place entirely on Zoom via its Webinar platform. This seminar will be on-the-record, recorded on Zoom, and live streamed to YouTube for sharing afterwards.
About the Speakers
Dr. Nicolas Levi is an analyst on North Korean issues. Author of 8 books, more than 40 academic articles, and over 50 analytical reports on the Korean Peninsula, Poland, and related issues. He conducts lectures at top universities in Poland and abroad. Nicolas has published extensively and offers expert commentary on Korea, including for AP News, The Independent, The National Interest, NK News, Radio Free Asia and The Times. Nicolas has a PhD in Political Sciences from the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He also extensively visited the Korean Peninsula and China nearly 15 times.
Ross Tokola is the Executive Associate to the Director at the East-West Center in Washington. Mr. Tokola gives advice and support to the Director on ongoing near-term and long-term strategic projects and programs, and helps monitor progress and ensure effective coordination with East-West Center in Washington staff and stakeholders. Previously, Mr. Tokola was a Program Officer at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies during his five years in Seoul, and worked for the U.S. embassies both in the Republic of Korea and in the United Kingdom. In addition to studying the Korean language at Sogang University in Seoul, he holds a first class honors B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from Heythrop College, University of London, and a M.Phil. in International Relations from the University of Cambridge.