A Personal Interpretation of North Korea's Priorities and Motivations 

Lee Sun-Jin, former South Korean deputy minister of foreign affairs and visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution, shared his perspectives on North Korea's often opaque political goals and negotiating tactics. The North's rhetorical bombast and seemingly erratic moves fit into its two overall negotiating strategies: escalating the sense of crisis in the ongoing diplomatic talks, and shifting the focus of the talks. But despite its brinkmanship, the DPRK has made significant accommodations to the U.S. in its effort to reinstate the terms of the 1994 Agreed Framework.

Yoo Ki-hong, a former pro-democracy activist and Uri Party member of the ROK National Assembly, presented an overview of the political storm clouds hanging over the adoption of a high school history textbook in Japan. The book, known as the Fusosha textbook, glosses over Japan's occupation of Korea, ignores the subject of Korean "comfort women" and only mentions Japanese responsibility when it comes to taking credit for South Korea's economic progress. Approved for student use by the Japanese authorities, the book flies in the face of Japan's 1982 promise to consult with neighboring countries before designing 20th century history curriculum for its students.

A Panel Discussion

This panel discussion was divided into two complementary sessions. The first session consisted of three rich and penetrating presentations by Bradley O. Babson, former senior advisor to the VP, East Asia Pacific Region, The World Bank; Young Mok Kim, deputy executive director, KEDO; and John B. Fetter, president, FSI Energy. The presentations underscored the region's high degree of dependence on imported oil and warned of its bleak future unless other energy sources can be brought on line. Recognizing that the prospects for multinational cooperation continue to be overshadowed by political, economic and diplomatic problems, one of the most pressing being the North Korean nuclear issue, the presenters explored a series of critical questions.