Author and journalist Blaine Harden speaks about his remarkable and harrowing account of refugee Shin Dong-hyuk’s birth into and eventual escape from the North Korean gulag. A monumental and moving book, Harden reveals the hardships of prison life and provides a lasting testimony to the endurance of the human spirit. This literary event features a […]
The Korea Society continues its Knowing North Korea series covering economy and investment; nuclear and other security issues; refugees; NGOs and humanitarian affairs; energy, agriculture, and infrastructure development; and the roles of the international community. This 2012 installment begins with lessons in humanitarian affairs and suggestions for more constructive international involvement by Stanford University Pantech […]
Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, and Alexandra Toma, founder and co-chair of the Fissile Materials Working Group, examine the issues surrounding the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit to take place in Seoul in March. What does the summit mean for international efforts to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists? What […]
With the passing of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, we have seen telecast images from Pyongyang of mass grief; South Korea offering sympathy to the people of North Korea and permitting the Hyundai and Kim Dae Jung families permission to attend observances; the United States noting the passing and reiterating its desire for stability on […]
Marcus Noland, deputy director and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, addresses The Korea Society on his and Professor Stephan Haggard’s study of surveys conducted in China and South Korea of North Korean refugees. Their work both illuminates the plight of the refugees and explores the implications for North Korea’s ongoing internal transformation. Noland, deputy […]
Mansfield Foundation Executive Director Gordon Flake discusses the complexities of China’s role in dealing with North Korea. Though stating concern about North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and having hosted the Six Party Talks, over the past year and half China has backed more visibly the DPRK regime—even in the face of last year’s provocations. […]
Dr. John Park, formerly of Goldman Sachs and now director of the Korea Working Group at the U.S. Institute of Peace, explores North Korea’s leadership transition in the context of Chinese and North Korean party connections. Dr. Park addresses the impact of recent events and Chinese foreign policy toward the Peninsula for media and business […]
The Korea Society, the leading American organization dedicated to understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and Korea, will convene a panel of experts to discuss possible Korean responses to the sinking of the Cheonan, a Republic of Korea Navy ship. Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard, chairman of The Korea Society; John Delury, associate director of the […]
On March 26, 2010, The Korea Society presented a panel discussion at the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting in Philadelphia on the security challenges that North Korea poses to Northeast Asia. Moderated by The Korea Society president Evans J.R. Revere, the conversation included Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy at the […]
Though once described by Mao Zedong as being as close as “lips and teeth,” the sixty-year history of the Sino-DPRK alliance has been littered with instances of tension and conflict. According to James Person, this history accounts for Pyongyang’s deep mistrust of China and its interest in developing a relationship with the United States, despite […]