REGISTER

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the deterioration of US-China relations are among the factors contributing to political uncertainty and increased danger of conflict in Northeast Asia. In addition to the regional calculus, what is the assessment of North Korea's shifting foreign policy calculations, and how will these domestic and external pressures and opportunities drive North Korean behavior?

You are invited to join North Korean experts Rüdiger Frank, Rachel Minyoung Lee and Glyn Ford for a virtual view from Europe on the opportunities and challenges existing with the present situation.

About the Speakers

Rüdiger Frank is Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna, Austria, https://ecos.univie.ac.at. He is also the founder and Director of the European Centre for North Korean Studies (www.ecnk.eu). 

Rachel Minyoung Lee is Regional Issues Manager and Senior Analyst at the Vienna-based Open Nuclear Network and a nonresident fellow at Stimson Center’s 38 North Program. Lee was a North Korea collection expert and analyst with the Open Source Enterprise of the U.S. government from 2000 to 2019.    

In over 25 years in the European Parliament, Glyn Ford developed an unrivaled expertise on East Asia as a Member of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committees. This interest started even before his election to the European Parliament (EP) when he was a visiting Professor in Science and Technology Policy at Tokyo University. Immediately after his Japanese experience, he was elected to the EP and became a member of the Delegation for Relations with Japan. His interest expanded over the years to South Korea, China and the rest of East Asia (he was rapporteur on the EU-ASEAN FTA). He was appointed by the Council of Ministers as the EU's Chief Election Observer in Indonesia (2002) and Aceh (2006/07). When he left the EP in 2009, Ford founded the consulting company, Polint, which he still leads today. However, in parallel he continued his political and academic engagement with the DPRK and the East Asian region. These activities which have always been conducted on a non-profit basis are now carried out in the framework of Track2Asia. He is the author of several books including "North Korea on the Brink" and "Talking to North Korea".