2007 was a year of tremendous activity on the Korean Peninsula. In early February, the Six-Party Talks resulted in an agreement to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula. A major deadline in the agreement is looming, since North Korea has committed to disable its nuclear program and declare all of its nuclear weapons-related facilities and materials later this month. The United States and South Korea signed a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) in June. In October, the leaders of the two Koreas met for the first time at the second Inter-Korean Summit. In addition, South Korea will soon hold a presidential election, which has the potential to change the political landscape at home and abroad. Please join us for a discussion of these and other pressing issues.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

About the speakers 

Korea and Its Neighbors: Securing Regional Stability

with

Lee Tae-sik
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States

Alex Arvizu
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, United States Department of State

Charles Armstrong
Professor of History, Columbia University

Victor Cha
Professor of International Relations, Georgetown University

John Park
Director, Korea Working Group, USIP

Haeran Lim
Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Scott Snyder
Senior Associate, International Relations, The Asia Foundation

J.J. Suh
Associate Professor and Director of the Korea Studies Program, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University

L. Gordon Flake
Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation

Charles Pritchard, 
President, Korea Economic Institute

Keynote Speakers:
His Excellency Lee Tae-sik, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States
Alex Arvizu, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, United States Department of State

Session I: After the North-South Summit: Toward Reconciliation?
Charles Armstrong, Professor of History, Columbia University
Victor Cha, Professor of International Relations, Georgetown University
John Park, Director, Korea Working Group, USIP
L. Gordon Flake, Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation (moderator)

Session II: Korea at a Crossroads: Domestic Leadership and Regional Stability
Haeran Lim, Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Scott Snyder, Senior Associate, International Relations, The Asia Foundation
J.J. Suh, Associate Professor and Director of the Korea Studies Program, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University
Charles Pritchard, President, Korea Economic Institute (moderator)