As denuclearization talks with North Korea resume for the first time since the discontinuation of the Six Party Talks in late 2009, the ongoing debate in academic and policy circles on whether to engage or contain North Korea becomes alarmingly pertinent. Will North Korea ever give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for economic development and should we trust the Kim regime? Dr. Cheol Hee Park will present his argument for conditional engagement with North Korea and explain why the international community should engage North Korea through tougher and more principled negotiations to achieve their goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula. The event will be moderated by Dr. Victor Cha, D.S. Song Chair in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-korean-denuclearization-a-case-for-c…
Speakers:
Dr. Cheol Hee Park is a Professor of Japanese Studies and International Relations at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Seoul National University. Between 2012 and 2016 he served as the Director of the Institute for Japanese Studies at Seoul National University and became Dean of GSIS in September 2016. As an expert on international relations in East Asia, he regularly advises the South Korean Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry as well as private think-tanks such as The Asan Institute for Policy Studies, the East Asia Foundation, and the 21st Century Peace Institute as a board member. Currently, Dr. Park is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at The Atlantic Council. Dr. Park earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is well published in Korean, Japanese, and English.
Dr. Victor Cha holds the D.S. Song Chair in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has been a member of the Georgetown faculty for over two decades, joining in 1995. In 2009, he was named as Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. He left the White House in May 2007 after serving since 2004 as Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council. At the White House, he was responsible primarily for Japan, the Korean peninsula, Australia/New Zealand and Pacific Island nation affairs. Dr. Cha was also the Deputy Head of Delegation for the United States at the Six Party Talks in Beijing, and received two Outstanding Service commendations during his tenure at the NSC. Dr. Cha earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University.