--SOLD OUT--

Leading scholars from the United States and Korea meet to discuss the current state of affairs and potential futures for the region. The Northeast Asian region, centered on the Korean Peninsula, is currently in a process of multiple transitions. China’s economic and military profile in the region continues to rise; yet while the U.S. is in some respects in relative decline, its alliances with Japan and South Korea remain robust. Japan and South Korea, ever more integrated economically with China, are at the same time strengthening their respective military ties with the U.S. as well as with each other. North Korea is becoming increasingly dominated by China in the economic realm, which has not prevented Pyongyang from engaging in military provocations toward the South. Russia is also deepening its economic ties to the region, but remains politically and diplomatically marginalized. The six-party talks, once the primary vehicle for multilateral dialogue, have been in limbo since 2009. At the same time, most of the countries in the region are facing significant domestic power shifts. Both the United States and South Korea have presidential elections scheduled for 2012. North Korea has declared 2012 the year it will become a “powerful and prosperous country” and appears poised for a third-generation leadership transition. China, having just celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, is also in the process of change in the top leadership. And Japan, in the aftermath of the Sendai earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster, faces renewed political uncertainty. This conference addresses the interplay of these multiple domestic and international transitions in today’s Northeast Asia.

Co-hosted by the Center for Korean Research, Columbia University and the Institute for Peace Affairs, Seoul

Co-sponsored by the the Center for Korean Legal Studies, Columbia Law School, The Korea Society, and APEC Study Center

This conference is SOLD OUT, please e-mail jk2857@columbia.edu for more information.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Please contact Jooyeon Kim, jk2857@columbia.edu for more information.