KEI Live

Now that Trump has met Kim, and with the Singapore Summit laying out the beginning of a path to denuclearization, analysts are still trying to figure out if Kim Jong Un is sincere about the possibility of giving up his nuclear arsenal. 

This week's guest, Dr. Marco Milani, has focused on North Korea's nuclear program as a part of the regime's identity and security - not just as a guaranteur of physical security, but legitimacy and economic security as well. But that doesn't necessarily mean they won't give them up within the right context. Check out this week's episode to learn more about his reasearch.

South Korea's government has increased its focus on different forms of diplomacy in recent years, from the more traditional government-to-government outreach of the Moon Administration's North Korea policy to a greater appreciation for public and cultural diplomacy. But one area that could benefit from more attention is the realm of science diplomacy.

This week's guest is Dr. Olga Krasnyak of Yonsei University, who recently wrote a paper for KEI's Academic Paper Series entitled "Science Diplomacy: An Underestimated Toolkit of South Korea’s Foreign Policy." In this episode, she explains what exactly science diplomacy entails, how some countries have used it successfully, and what South Korea can do to boost its foreign policy through science diplomacy projects.

With U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un headed to Singapore next week for the first ever U.S.-DPRK summit, people around the world are watching to see how the two leaders will interact, what outcomes they will announce after their meeting, and how the two countries move forward after June 12.

With this historic event just around the corner, Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson sat down with distinguished North Korea expert Ambassador Joe Yun. Ambassador Yun, who retired as the State Department's Special Representative for North Korea Policy earlier this year, is now watching these issues closely as a Senior Advisor for both the Asia Group and the U.S. Institute for Peace. In this episode, we discuss with him his predictions for the summit, how he sees the role of other countries like South Korea, Japan, and China, in these discussions, and what he hopes not to see as part of the outcome on June 12. 

Covering news on the Korean peninsula can be a hectic task. With all the rapidly evolving developments in economics, politics, and society, it's often hard for journalists who cover the peninsula to keep up with everything that they need to cover on a daily basis. NPR journalist Elise Hu talks about her experiences working as the first NPR chief in Seoul with KEI Senior Director Troy Stangarone. She discusses her hectiv first day, how things have changed drastically in both North and South Korea over the last year or so, and what life is like as a foreign correspondent.

*Please note: The podcast was recorded before the announced cancellation of the Trump-Kim summit.

With the Trump-Kim Summit in Singapore still on the calendar at least for the moment, pundits and analysts alike have been predicting the outcomes or sharing their advice for how the United States should deal with North Korea. From Dr. Stephen Blank's perspective, we've been looking at this issue all wrong for decades - this isn't primarily a nonproliferation issue, he claims, but a regional security one.

In a recent paper for KEI, Dr. Blank lays out why he thinks we need to approach the talks with North Korea differently, and lays out a diplomatic framework for the Trump Administration that could help them reach a more sustainable solution - and one that takes into account American interests in East Asian security. In this episode, he discusses his research, his proposed framework, and why it's important to weave more academic thinking and research into policy discussions.

After a year of threats and weapons tests in 2017, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has shifted course and embarked on a diplomatic campaign. The normally reclusive Kim Jong-un made his second trip to China earlier today to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping mere weeks after his first visit, and he met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April for the first inter-Korean summit in over ten years. With a pending summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea's recent diplomatic efforts have sparked global speculation on what North Korea is hoping to achieve.

As part of KEI's Academic Symposium, Eun A Jo, Assistant Editor for The Asan Forum, presented on Kim Jong-un's public relations strategy as part of a panel on North Korea's diplomatic outreach in 2018 hosted by KEI. She spoke with Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson about her presentation and what utility diplomacy has for Kim Jong-un.

Note: The interview was recorded on April 19th before the Moon-Kim summit held on April 27th.