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. Namely, "What are the current energy sources in Northeast Asia?", "What alternative energy sources exist, and what would it take to successfully exploit them?", "How effective can international power grids, gas pipelines and other cooperative measures be in making the region less reliant on Middle Eastern oil?" and "What are the environmental and security issues involved?" The second session focused on the past contributions and future prospects of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). Noting that KEDO was in operation for a full ten years as of March 9, 2005, Charles Kartman, then executive director, KEDO, Young-Jin Choi, a former vice foreign minister, Republic of Korea, and Allan Maxwell, then senior advisor to the executive director-European Union, KEDO, affirmed their strongly shared conviction that KEDO has served over this time as a powerful diplomatic tool for the United States, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea. It has, however, faced many challenges to its original mandate, none more so than the DPRK's suspected uranium enrichment program. As governments press for a resolution of the current diplomatic stalemate, common wisdom holds that any final or interim agreements should include measures to address the DPRK's energy situation. All presenters concurred in the view that it is not too early to begin assessing how such agreements might be initiated and managed. In this respect, KEDO's creation and operation offers many pertinent lessons that can be integrated into the current diplomatic process, with a view to determining the role KEDO might play in any future energy-related activities. This program was co-presented with the Asia Society.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

About the Speakers

Bradley O. Babson is a consultant on Asian affairs specializing in economic engagement with North Korea and Northeast and Southeast Asian economic cooperation. He worked for the World Bank for 26 years before retiring in 2000 from his position as senior advisor to the vice president of the East Asia and Pacific Region. Babson began his career in the Bank’s personnel management function, serving as a policy officer and as chief of the Personnel Policy and Planning Division. From 1983 to 1987 he worked as a senior loan officer on Indonesia and then until 1992, he was Chief of the Human Resources Operations Division in the East Asia Pacific Region, Country Department 1. During this time he was responsible for lending and other activities in the education and health sectors in South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. In 1993, Babson moved to Bangkok as the Bank's regional representative. He held that position until 1994 when he moved to Hanoi to open the Bank's first Resident Mission in Vietnam and served as the resident representative until 1997. Babson received his B.A. from Williams College in 1972, and M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs at Princeton University in 1974. 

Mr. Young-Mok Kim assumed the post of Deputy Executive Director of KEDO on June 1, 2003. Mr. Kim has over twenty-five years experience as a career diplomat in the service of the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Mr. Kim has had extensive experience in policy on the DPRK before joining KEDO's senior leadership. He was a coordinating negotiator for the ROK Government during negotiations which led to the 1994 Agreed Framework. He served as a senior member of the ROK delegation to the Light-Water Reactor Supply Agreement negotiations, and in several protocols which followed. During this period, he was Director-General of the Light-Water Reactor Project Office and Senior Advisor to the ROK Representative to the Executive Board of KEDO (1995-1997). His most recent post was as Minister for Political Affairs at the ROK Mission to the United Nations where his portfolio included diplomatic contacts with the DPRK Mission. He is a graduate of Seoul National University, the International Institute for Public Administration (Paris, France) and a former Fellow at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Mr. Kim is married, and has a son and a daughter.

John B. Fetter is a founder and president of FSI Energy, an organization specializing in developing energy and environmental projects and implementation of energy strategy and strategic management programs for client organizations. Fetter has been a manager and consultant specializing in energy and commercial development for over 30 years. He has significant experience in financial, legal, and operational analysis, strategic planning, project management, and systems implementation. He has developed advanced computer applications for management of energy, engineering, transportation, construction, marketing, and distribution organizations. Over the last decade, he has founded three successful companies operating in the United States and Europe. His technical expertise and business experience allow him to integrate financial and operational considerations of complex organizational issues with a focus on energy and technology issues. Fetter earned his B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Colorado and his M.B.A from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Charles Kartman has served since 2001 as the executive director of the Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), an international consortium established in 1995 to manage a $4.6 billion energy project in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Prior to that, he was the U.S. special envoy for the Korean Peace Talks and concurrently served as the U.S. representative to and the chairman of KEDO’s executive board, until retiring from the Department of State in April 2001. From June 1996, Kartman was principal deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and was the acting assistant secretary for much of 1997. He had previously served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and director for Korean Affairs at the Department of State in Washington. Kartman is recognized for his expertise on Northeast Asia, having earlier specialized in Japanese affairs, working as a political officer in the Embassy in Tokyo, consul general in Sapporo, and twice in the Office of Japanese Affairs at the Department of State. He also held a variety of other positions focused on Asia: in the Department on Politico-Military Affairs; for the undersecretary for Political Affairs; and on loan to the Congress. During his 26-year career at the Department of State, Kartman received numerous awards, including the Superior Honor Award and the James Clement Dunn Award for outstanding service. Kartman received his bachelor’s degree from Knox College and his master’s degree from Georgetown University.

Allan Maxwell is a Senior Advisor in the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). Before joining KEDO in 2002, he was a Principal Administrator in the External Relations Directorate of the European Commission. Mr. Maxwell has extensive experience in the fields of nuclear cooperation, nuclear energy and trade. From 1975 to 1995, he conducted negotiations on nuclear export controls and nuclear safeguards on behalf of the Energy Directorate. In this period, he served on the EU-High-Level Liaison Committee with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Before joining the European Commission, he held administrative positions in multinational enterprise based in the United Kingdom and France. Mr. Maxwell is a Social Science graduate of the Open University (B.A., 1990) and graduate of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants of the United Kingdom (ACCA, 1969).