In this presentation, Moon Chung-in, then chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative, outlined the serious constraints imposed by an array of North Korean issues on the robust implementation of the Peace and Prosperity Policy that governs the Roh Moo-hyun administration's relations with North Korea. Apart from the prolongation of the nuclear problem, he noted, many other factors also serve as constraints including the stalled inter-Korean talks and the increasing outside pressures on North Korea to address international concerns about its human rights conditions. The presenter stressed the enormously complex challenge posed by North Korea, especially in view of the narrowed scope of policy choices currently available to the ROK government. He also explored the impact of inter-Korean relations on the ROK-U.S. alliance.

Thursday, February 3, 2005



The Roh Moo-hyun Government and the North Korean Dilemma

with

Moon Chung-in
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative

Moon Chung-in currently serves in South Korea as a senior advisor to the National Security Council of the Office of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of National Defense, the National Intelligence Service, and the Air Force. He is also chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative in the Office of the President, a ministerial position. Moon’s academic roles include professor of political science at Yonsei University and adjunct professor at the Duke University Asia-Pacific Studies Institute. He has authored 19 books and over 200 articles, many of which have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, and Yomiuri Shimbun. He has also been interviewed on major networks, including NBC, CNN, BBC and ABC. His recent publications include Handbook of Korean Unification; State, Market and Just Growth; Understanding Korean Politics; Arms Control on the Korean Peninsula; and Ending the Cold War in Korea.