While diplomats engage in the protracted back and forth of the Six-Party Talks, Katharina Zellweger has successfully negotiated the terms of cooperative aid and development projects with the DPRK. First as a member of Caritas Hong Kong, and now as country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Pyongyang, Zellweger has over 30 years of experience in humanitarian work and over 12 years of experience in the DPRK. In her talk, Zellweger will detail the strategies for successful negotiations with the DPRK that allow SDC to carry on their work in North Korea.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

with

Katharina Zellweger
DPRK Country Director, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

About the Speaker
Katharina Zellweger has led the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) program in Pyongyang since October of 2006. In her capacity as country director, Zellweger heads an office with a staff of twenty-four project officers—four expatriates and twenty DPRK nationals—who are focused on supporting economic reforms, facilitating economic development and enhancing the DPRK’s access to international organizations. Before joining SDC, Zellweger worked at Caritas Hong Kong for 30 years, including 12 years focused on providing assistance to the DPRK. She holds an MA from the School of International Training. In recognition of her humanitarian work, Zellweger received the Bishop Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Award in 2005, and was made a Dame of St. Gregory the Great by the Vatican in 2006.

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