North Korea

Korea-U.S. Relations: From Allies to Global Partners with Ambassador YJ Choi & Ambassador Hubbard

Thursday, April 18, 2013 | 6:00 PM
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- Podcast URL: Korea-U.S. Relations: From Allies to Global Partners Thursday, April 18, 2013 His Excellency Choi Young-jin, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, Chairman of The Korea Society Introduction by Ambassador Mark Minton, President of The Korea Society   AMBASSADOR MINTON: It is my pleasure to introduce this evening's main speakers for a discussion about Korea's growing global role as well as its current relationship with the United States. We are honored to have with us the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States, His Excellency Choi Young-jin. We are especially honored to have Ambassador Choi with us tonight as President Park Geun-hye is visiting Washington in just a few weeks. All of us who have been in diplomatic service know that one has little extra time in the month before such an event. Ambassador Choi assured us he would attend this evening, and we are very grateful to have him here. Ambassador YJ Choi has had a long and distinguished forty-year career as an international statesman and diplomatic representative of his country. His Excellency served in the Francophone countries of France, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and graduated from the Sorbonne (University of Paris) with masters and doctorate degrees in international political science. He held an important position as deputy executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization here in New York City, charged with implementing the Agreed Framework between the DPRK, the United States and the Republic of Korea along with the involvement of Japan. His Excellency served as South Korea's ambassador to Austria and Slovenia. He has served as an assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and as his country's ambassador to the United Nations. He served in Seoul as a vice foreign minister and currently, of course, holds the assignment of Ambassador to the United States. His interlocutor tonight is Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard, Chairman of The Korea Society. Ambassador Hubbard was my boss in Seoul when I was his deputy. He served as ambassador to the Philippines as well as to the Republic of Korea. He is currently with McLarty Associates of Washington, DC and holds the title of senior director for Asia with that consultancy. Of course, his major role is as chairman of The Korea Society. Ambassador Hubbard is one of the most knowledgeable career diplomats on Japan and has deep experience in the U.S.-Japan relationship. He served in other Asian countries, as well. Please help me in welcoming both Ambassador Choi and Ambassador Hubbard to the stage. [Applause] AMBASSADOR HUBBARD: Thank you very much, Mark, for your kind introduction. I'd like to thank all of you for joining Ambassador Choi and me tonight as we discuss important aspects of the US-Korea relationship. I also wish to thank our gracious hosts here in Denver. WorldDenver is a wonderful organization, and we appreciate the support of the Denver World Trade Center, as well. I am particularly pleased to also have our sponsors from McKenna Long & Aldridge with us this evening. My relationship with McKenna Long has been with the Atlanta and Washington offices, and I have worked very closely with partners Song Jung and Andy Park as they’ve built their practice in Seoul. Song Jung is a valuable member of our board at The Korea Society. I'm sorry he couldn't be with us tonight but am very pleased to see Lino and all the rest of you here this evening. I don't have any prepared remarks, but Congresswoman DeGette covered just about everything I planned to say (which usually happens to me) about the valuable relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea. As part of our broader presence in Asia, we have a very significant presence on the Korean Peninsula and a lot in common with the South Koreans. Just a few weeks ago, Mark and I had the great pleasure of attending the inauguration of President Park Geun-hye. I would have told anyone even five years ago that they were crazy if they believed South Korea would elect a female president before the United States did likewise. As it turns out, South Korea has a very able female president. Mark and I are very pleased to know her and to have had the chance to be at her inauguration. [Applause] Going back twenty or thirty years, I don't think anyone would have forecast South Korea's extraordinary success as a vibrant democracy and major economic world player, or that it would successively elect different parties to the presidency along with having a female president. Going back twenty to thirty years ago, I don't think any of us could have imagined South Korea as one of the world's top twelve to fifteen economies with an even higher rating in per capita income. We enjoy excellent relations with South Korea as an ally, as a security partner and additionally as a valuable free trade partner. After I retired from government service eight years ago, I became actively involved in ensuring the successful movement of the Free Trade Agreement through Congress (with much thanks to people like Congresswoman DeGette). We even solved the beef problem so important to Colorado. Your state is, once again, a major exporter of beef to the Republic of Korea. This beneficial relationship is well reflected in statements and speeches by President Obama and other senior US officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Korea at the end of last week. In partnership with the United States, global Korea is now a major economic and cultural player on the world stage with an increasing role solving global problems. It is no accident that the Secretary General of the UN is Korean. A Korean-born Korean-American is the President of the World Bank. Korea is reaching out to lead the world community and to help solve the world's economic problems by encouraging broad-based inclusive growth around the world and dealing with the environmental problems stemming from global warming. South Korea has been and continues to be a wonderful and welcome partner. Unfortunately, a lot of what we see on the news is about the other Korea—North Korea—a closed dictatorship with a regime neglecting the needs of its people and focused on the production of nuclear weapons and missiles. North Korea's leadership is spreading bombast through the news cycle in a manner we haven't heard for years. Russell Kemp told me that his eleven-year-old daughter recently turned on the television and was frightened to learn that Kim Jong Un was targeting Colorado Springs with nuclear weaponry. The good news is we're sure he can't hit Colorado Springs with anything close to a nuclear weapon. He probably can't hit Guam either. Over the medium to long-term, however, the North Korean weapons program is a problem which will have to be dealt with. The tension emanating from the Korean Peninsula is a big problem today and in some ways detracts from the success we see elsewhere in Korea. Representative DeGette has already covered this very interesting topic and I am pleased to have Ambassador Choi here to talk about this, as well. And so without further adieu, I'd like to ask Ambassador Choi to share his opening remarks. AMBASSADOR CHOI: Thank you, Ambassador Hubbard and Ambassador Minton, for inviting me here this evening. Ever since I attended some ball games played by the Colorado Rockies, the Denver Broncos and the Denver Nuggets, I have dreamed that one day I would be able to come to Denver, and here I am. [Applause] When I saw this evening's menu of Korean dishes, such as naengmyeon noodles, kimchi and bulgogi, I felt really at home. Denver is a city whose culture of hospitality is just like that of Korea's, and I thank you for that. Let me start by talking about the special relationship between the United States and Korea. Sixty years ago, the Korean War ended, yet the alliance between our countries continues. This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the armistice. Let us go back sixty years and talk about what Korea was like at that time. Sixty years ago, Korea was much like every other underdeveloped country in the world—one of extreme poverty with very little hope for the future. During the last sixty years, Korea has come of age on every account with the adoption of democracy, through the development of economic growth and by sharing Korean culture around the globe. Korea's democracy produced the first female leader ever in the East Asian Confucian part of the world, and her arrival in Washington in three weeks is testimony that Korea's democratic form of government has come of age in only two generations. Three years ago, Korea surpassed the $1 trillion mark in terms of its trade volume and national GDP. Only seven other countries have accomplished this, and today Korea is ranked within the top ten to twelve economies in the world. Of course culturally we have "Gangnam Style" YouTube videos. Even before that there were Korean dramas, Korean songs and Korean movies spreading rapidly beyond Asia. All of this has been possible because of America's friendship and alliance with South Korea. I ran a nine-nation peacekeeping operation in Africa for three years. A president of [one] African country asked me for the secret that led to the success of South Korea. When that African country became independent six years ago, their per capita income and prospects were much better than Korea's. Now most African countries import cell phones, cars, air conditioners, TV sets and almost all of our industrial products rather than exporting these products to Korea. This has become possible because of the extraordinary relationship between the United States and Korea. People in Korea never forget, and they believe that the success story derived from the U.S.-Korea relationship has been America's most successful engagement in history. None of Korea's rivals have benefitted as Korea has through its engagement abroad. Korea learned from America and established a relief program like the Peace Corps. No other country in the world does that. For the Peace Corps members, we have a program which invites them to observe the difference they have made in Korea so they can be proud of what they have done. In reference to the FTA, Korea has the most Free Trade Agreements. The US-Korea FTA serves as a model for other FTA agreements being negotiated in the world today, including the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), the Korea-China free trade agreement negotiations, and Korea-China-Japan free trade negotiations. Korea has a very special relationship with the United States. This year we'll be celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the Korean War armistice in July. We will have ceremonies concurrently in Washington and Seoul, and will then have the opportunity to take stock of where we are now and to also envision how we can make this special relationship relevant well into the twenty-first century. [Applause]   THOMAS HUBBARD: Thank you very much, Ambassador. I talked a bit about Korea's increasing role with international institutions. Could you perhaps elaborate on your new government's view towards Korea's ongoing role around the globe?   CHOI YOUNG-JIN: Korea is a very old country. During dinner, we discussed that the establishment of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, dates back over 2000 years. As Korea was confined to the small geographic region of the Peninsula, it remained a parochial country for most of its history—until America came to open our doors. As our economy develops, Korea is becoming increasingly regional while contributing to peace and stability in the region, including Northeast Asia. Recently, the slogan global Korea has become the watchword for the citizenry as well as for the Korean government. Korea is the very first country, on record, to transform itself from a recipient country to a donor country, and this is one of Korea's strengths as it develops into a global country. Korea is very keen on developing itself internationally because otherwise it cannot thrive or perhaps even survive. We depend heavily on our trade with other countries. We have virtually no natural resources. We only have the human resource of brain power. Should we not go global, our future is not very promising at all. It is for this reason that we have become a donor country. We are expanding our relationship with Africa as well as North America. We have hosted many international conferences including the APEC Summit, the Nuclear Security Summit and the G20 Summit meeting in order to link Korea with the outside world. The importance of trade and investment to our international growth means we must be very visible on the world stage, as without a healthy state of competitiveness, Korea will only stagnate. We are determined to go global, and America is our best partner for moving forward. Diplomatically, we are on the same page with America when it comes to the difficult issues posed by places like Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and even Somalia. This proves that Korea is determined to go global by developing its economic strength along with the indispensable partnership of the United States. THOMAS HUBBARD: Thank you, Ambassador Choi. I'd like to make note that among Korea's other distinctions, they have the first company, Samsung, capable of challenging Apple. That is surely a symbol of Korea's industrial creativity and of your growing success in the world. After such a positive discussion, I hesitate to bring up the subject of North Korea. You did mention that South Korea and the United States have been successfully collaborating, dealing with issues such as Somalia, Iran and Afghanistan. How can the United States and South Korea collaborate to resolve the issue closest to the hearts of all South Koreans—that of North Korea? How would you suggest we improve the situation on the Korean Peninsula? CHOI YOUNG-JIN: To explain the issue of North Korea, I like to introduce the concept of American exceptionalism. Early in the last century, when East Asia was opening up, European powers came to our region and brought the paradigm of colonialism and military raids. America, unlike the old colonial powers, came to our region with the paradigm of trade and an open-door policy. That made all the difference. As you know, Japan's economic growth came first. The Four Dragons of East Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) followed suit. Now China is with us, and other East Asian and South Asian countries are registering phenomenal economic growth. The basis for this was, in part, made possible because of American exceptionalism; that is, America is a different country from Eastern European countries whose philosophies are based on colonialism, expansionism, war and military might. We must acknowledge that, that trade paradigm is the key to understanding what's happening in the East Asia and Pacific region. North Korea is the only country in the entire East Asian region which has yet to accept the trade paradigm. The best reference to understanding North Korea is the Soviet Union, clinging onto the old paradigm of military raids and colonialism, along with the building of heavy weapons and weapons of mass destruction while making the military the focus of their citizenry. This is the Soviet style. The North Korean problem can only be resolved once the country comes in from the cold to join the paradigm of trade with other countries in the region, increase interdependence with us and engage in trade and investment. What's happening in North Korea today is the same pattern we have seen for the last twenty years. They test their nuclear weapons or they declare that they have a nuclear weapons program. They test fire some missiles, heighten tension, and then right at the climax they de-escalate and ask us to negotiate. We have cooperated three times in the past. I believe this current phase of escalation is either reaching its peak or near there, because we are still waiting to see whether North Korea will test fire their medium-range Musudan missiles. I predict that de-escalation will come very soon, and North Korea will again ask to negotiate with us. I think North Korea is mistaken this time, because unlike the past twenty years, neither Washington nor Korea will reward their unacceptable behavior. If they use the same pattern as they have done over the last twenty years, this time it cannot possibly work. So, the future is not very bright, because a negotiation will not easily take place. Even if it does takes place, it must be preceded by North Korea demonstrating that things are different this time in approaching normalization. The one silver lining is China, because China is accepting the trade paradigm. They are increasingly on the same page with America, Korea and Japan. That means North Korea is becoming more of a problem and a liability for China, and Beijing will increasingly see that the future lies with us. Last year, China's combined trade with the US, Japan and Korea exceeded $1 trillion. We are talking to China with an increased understanding that we must work together on the problem of North Korea in order to make that country come in from the cold and abandon the Soviet-style nuclear paradigm, adopt the Chinese style or even the South Korean style of a trade paradigm, and get rid of their weapons of mass destruction. Barring any unacceptable conflict taking place, I am not too worried about the current rhetoric or hyperbolic words coming from North Korea, because it will de-escalate. I expect negotiations will come and go; but in the end, the nuclear weapons problem is linked to the North Korean problem itself. We have to tackle these issues together. The solution is to make North Korea come in from the cold. [End]
- Third Tab: http://traffic.libsyn.com/koreasociety/2013-04-18_DenverBrownChoiHubbard.mp3
His Excellency YJ Choi, South Korea’s Ambassador to the United States, and Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, The Korea Society Chair, dialogued on the remarkable relationship between Korea and the United States, and Korea’s rise globally. Korea and the U.S. share a common security and vibrant business relations. Korea figures as a growing investor in the United States and a vibrant actor on economic, political and cultural stages. The Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement implementation has seen new opportunities and... Read More
Global Korea with Ambassador Hill and Ambassador Minton

Thursday, April 18, 2013 | 12:30 PM
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Korbel School Dean, Ambassador Christopher Hill and The Korea Society President Ambassador Mark Minton, addressed Korea's rising regional and global influence. From the Seoul G20 and Nuclear Security Summit to the 2018 Winter Olympics, Korea has come of its own as regional host and hub. A harbinger of democracy, Korea supports international peacekeeping and leads in green growth. Korea is an Asian cultural leader--from film to KPop. From UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Koreans and... Read More
TKS on Bloomberg/Tensions Rise On The Korean Peninsula

Friday, April 12, 2013 | 12:00 PM
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Tensions Rise On The Korean PeninsulaApril 12 (Bloomberg) -- Stephen Noerper, Senior Vice President at The Korea Society, discusses the mounting tensions between the U.S., South Korea and North Korea. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers." (Source: Bloomberg) WATCH HERE: http://bloom.bg/10UWbw9 Download the FREE Bloomberg TV+ iPad app fromhttp://itunes.apple.com/app/bloomberg-tv/id460459302&mt=8 Of interest: N. Korea Needs to Save Face in De-Escalation:... Read More
North Korean History and Culture

Thursday, April 4, 2013 | 9:15 AM
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North Korean History and CultureApril 4, 2013 (C-SPAN) -- Thomas Hubbard talked about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as well as the culture and history of North Korea and its relationship with South Korea, and other topics. He also responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. (Source: C-SPAN | Washington Journal) WATCH HERE: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311901-5# Read More
Rising Tensions on the Korean Peninsula: The Latest with John Park

Friday, March 29, 2013 | 12:00 PM
- Event Link: Dr. John S. Park is the Stanton Foundation Junior Faculty Fellow at MIT and an associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. He previously directed Northeast Asia Track 1.5 projects at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). These included the Korea Working Group, the U.S.-China Project on Crisis Avoidance & Cooperation, the U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Dialogue in Northeast Asia, and the U.S.-PRC-Japan Dialogue on Risk Reduction & Crisis Prevention. He advises Northeast Asia policy-focused officials at the Departments of Defense, State and the Treasury, as well as on the National Security Council and Congressional committees. Dr. Park previously worked at Goldman Sachs, where he specialized in U.S. military privatization financing projects. Prior to that, he was the project leader of the North Korea Analysis Group at the Harvard Kennedy School. He previously worked in Goldman Sachs’ M&A Advisory Group in Hong Kong and The Boston Consulting Group’s Financial Services Practice in Seoul. Dr. Park’s writings have appeared in Wall Street Journal Asia, Financial Times, Jane’s Intelligence Review, International Herald Tribune (international edition of The New York Times), and Washington Quarterly. His publications include: “Assessing the Role of Security Assurances in Dealing with North Korea” in Security Assurances and Nuclear Nonproliferation (Stanford University Press, 2012); “North Korea, Inc.: Gaining Insights into North Korean Regime Stability from Recent Commercial Activities” (USIP Working Paper, May 2009); “North Korea’s Nuclear Policy Behavior: Deterrence and Leverage,” in The Long Shadow: Nuclear Weapons and Security in 21st Century Asia (Stanford University Press, 2008). Dr. Park received his M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Cambridge University and completed his pre-doctoral and postdoctoral training at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.  
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John Park, Stanton Foundation Junior Faculty Fellow at MIT and an associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, analyzes the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the uptick in provocations and threats from North Korea and security implications for the region with The Korea Society's Senior Vice President, Dr. Stephen Noerper. Related News: North Korea threats predictable but Kim Jong Un is not, analysts say Read More
China-North Korea Relations: Parties, Politics and New Perspectives

Thursday, March 28, 2013 | 5:30 PM

John S. Park, an associate at Harvard Univerty’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and MIT faculty fellow, speaks to progress and new developments in the relations between the DPRK and PRC. Dr. Park speaks to upticks in party relations, Kim Jong Un’s leadership and ties to China’s new leaders, growth in trade with and Chinese-style special economic zones in North Korea, and other changes. + - Transcript Click to collapse... Read More
North Korean Nuclear Test - Rapid Reaction 2013

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 | 10:00 AM
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On February 12, 2013, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in a show of defiance to the international community and the nuclear non-proliferation regime. President of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), David Albright; Executive Director of the Ploughshares Fund, Phillip Yun; and the Senior Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for New American Security, Patrick Cronin addressed the significance of this nuclear test, North Korean nuclear advancement, and... Read More
Perilous Passages: North Korea, Human Trafficking and the Underground Railroad

Thursday, February 7, 2013 | 5:30 PM
- About the Speaker Title: Perilous Passage: North Korea, Human Trafficking and the Underground Railroad
- About the Speaker: 2013-02-07 17:30:00
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- Event Link: Melanie Kirkpatrick is a writer-journalist based in Connecticut and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. She contributes reviews and commentary to various publications, including the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, for which she worked from 1980 until mid-2009. Her book, Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia’s Underground Railroad, is published by Encounter Books. At The Wall Street Journal, Melanie was deputy editor of the editorial page from 2006-2009 and a longtime member of the editorial board. As a deputy editor, she was responsible for the editorial page’s coverage of international issues and oversaw the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal in Asia and Europe, the Far Eastern Economic Review and the U.S. columnists on foreign affairs. She wrote editorials and op-ed articles on foreign affairs. Melanie spent 10 years in Asia, working for The Wall Street Journal Asia in Hong Kong and, prior to that, for a division of Time-Life Books in Tokyo. She received the 2001 Mary Morgan Hewett Award for Women in Journalism from the Friends of the East-West Center in Honolulu. The annual award recognizes a journalist who has demonstrated commitment, hard work and expanding influence throughout her career. She received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in English from the University of Toronto. She was a Gannett Newspaper Foundation Fellow in Asian studies at the University of Hawaii. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; a trustee of Princeton in Asia, an internship program in Asia for young graduates of American universities; and a director of the America for Bulgaria Foundation. Ms. Kirkpatrick is married to Jack David, who is a senior fellow and trustee of the Hudson Institute.     Steven Kim is the founder of 318 Partners, a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to rescuing trafficked women in China. It’s named after Article 318 of the Chinese criminal code, the law under which Kim was arrested in September 2003 for trying to send nine North Korean refugees to South Korea through Vietnam. Mr. Kim is also the author of Fearless Passage, an autobiography about his time working with North Korean refugees in China.
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North Koreans escaping regime repression employ escape channels similar to those used by Harriet Tubman to help American slaves, says author Melanie Kirkpatrick. Explore the network of ethnic Koreans, brokers and missionaries who seek to aid those fleeing the North with Kirkpatrick and human rights advocate and U.S. businessman Steven Kim, founder of 318 Partners, an effort to rescue North Korean women trafficked to China. Chinese-North Korean Children North Korean Bride... Read More
Googling North Korea

Thursday, January 10, 2013 | 5:00 PM
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- Event Link: Scott Thomas Bruce serves as Project Manager for the Partnership for Nuclear Security at CRDF Global. He is also an Associate at the Nautilus Institute and the East-West Center. Scott specializes in nuclear non-proliferation and East Asian security issues. Before joining CRDF Global, he was a POSCO Fellow at the East-West Center in Hawai’i where he analyzed the impact of cell-phones and information technology in North Korea. Prior to that he was the Director of US Operations for the Nautilus Institute in San Francisco where he managed projects on non-proliferation and energy security. Scott studied history at the University of California and Queen’s University Belfast and has master’s degrees in international business and Asia-Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco. Scott has been interviewed in numerous media including the San Francisco Chronicle, Public Radio International, ABC Radio News, the Washington Times, Agence France-Presse, the International Herald Tribune, Reuters, and many more.
- Podcast URL: Googling North Korea Thursday, January 10, 2013 SPEAKER: Scott Thomas Bruce Project Manager for the Partnership for Nuclear Security at CRDF Global Moderated by Stephen Noerper Senior Vice President, The Korea Society     STEPHEN NOERPER (Moderator): Welcome to Studio Korea and welcome to The Korea Society. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, and Jared Cohen of Google Ideas returned from a four-day visit to North Korea. While at Beijing Airport on January 10, Schmidt is quoted as saying:       "As the world becomes increasingly connected, [North Korea's] decision to       be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world,       their economic growth, and so forth; and it will make it harder for them to       catch up economically...We made that alternative very, very clear." Speaking with us today is Scott Thomas Bruce, Project Manager of the Partnership for Nuclear Security at CRDF Global. In addition to his role at CRDF Global, Scott is an associate at the Nautilus Institute and the East-West Center. Scott is a specialist in non-proliferation and East Asian security issues, and author of AsiaPacific Issues, Brief No. 105 (October, 2012) by the East-West Center, "A Double-Edged Sword: Information Technology in North Korea." Scott is here to help us analyze the "Google visit,” as it's referred to by the North Koreans. Scott, welcome to Studio Korea. What is your take on the Google visit? SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: Well, I think it's a very significant visit. I do not expect Google to be opening a Pyongyang office anytime soon, but I think the message that Eric Schmidt sent to North Korea is very important. Currently, one of North Korea's biggest priorities is to attract foreign direct investment as part of its plan to build a stronger and more prosperous country. The number one complaint from investors doing business there (including the Chinese) is that you can't bring a cell phone to North Korea, and you're can't access the Internet at all. Mr. Schmidt was in a unique position to deliver the message that by closing down the Internet, not allowing mobile phones, and restricting the use of information technology; North Korea is impeding its own ability to attract foreign investment, and therefore build a more robust economy. STEPHEN NOERPER: How does that sync with the New Year's message of Kim Jong-un emphasizing the development of North Korea's science and technology sectors? And how has the visit been represented by the North Korean media? SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: The visit has been played out in North Korea as a showcase; as a great opportunity. Look at these groups from the outside world coming here. They took Mr. Schmidt to some of the universities in order to show him how North Korea uses an "Intranet" and other information technology systems. Of course, these systems are not nearly as widespread as they were projected to be. However, we should consider this in the broader context of North Korea's current goals. Last year Kim Jong-un stated that he wanted North Korea using tools such as the Internet in order to seek development information from the rest of the world. The biggest priority mentioned in the New Year's address was development of the economy and the science and technology sectors. The use of information technology is very much in line with North Korea's goals. The important thing to remember, though, is that North Korea's main concern remains control over the domestic population. That means making sure North Koreans have as little information as possible about the outside world, as that information is considered to be corrosive. The North is walking a tightrope between its attempt to leverage information technology (particularly cell phones, which have really expanded there in the last five years) and its desire to maintain control over its population while preventing any sort of outside media coming in and having a disruptive impact on its population. STEPHEN NOERPER: Just what type of access does the average North Korean have to either the Intranet or mobile phones? SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: A North Korean defector published a couple of papers on the subject, and he stated that North Korea doesn't have an Internet. It has a "mosquito net." It has a system that is designed to allow access to certain materials to a very privileged elite, but its main goal is to protect its population from potentially corrosive foreign information. If you're wealthy, you might be able to afford a Koryolink mobile phone. These phones can only make calls within North Korea. If you're a student or part of an even more elite class, you might have access to the North Korean Intranet, which is a closed network. It's not like the Internet we know. It's populated with documents that have been approved by the North Korean government. Its message boards and bulletin boards are very closely monitored by North Korean authorities. What the North Koreans have done is created a system where the population that has access to information technology, cell phones, and the Intranet are the most wealthy and the most elite within North Korea. The regime is calculating that the wealthiest members of the population have the biggest stake in the survival of the state as it exists today. They're making sure that those who have access to this technology are those that would be the least likely to use it to undermine the regime at any point in time. STEPHEN NOERPER: Interesting. In your brief published last October, you referred to the burgeoning interest in information technology by the North Korean state as a "double-edged sword." What degree of risk is there to opening up North Korea? Can you identify a critical point where the free flow of information will become a challenge to the regime? SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: Absolutely. We're already seeing changes. The availability of cell phone networks along with the Intranet (even if they can only be used domestically) are very new developments in North Korea. One of the interesting things we discovered is that those North Koreans who do have cell phones (which is about 5 percent of the country and about 1 million people out of a population of 20 to 22 million) use their phones as much as their cousins in South Korea. It's just that a much smaller percentage of the North Korean population has that access. This means there are far more conversations being held in North Korea than the state security mechanism can track at this stage. That's a very new development. Traditionally, the State Security Department was able to keep track of every conversation being held on landlines in the North. Secondly, the development of the Intranet is turning North Koreans into consumers of information. They're going "online" looking for information they can use. This is a very big shift for a population that has been trained over many decades to not ask questions and not draw attention to themselves. We are seeing a systematic shift in North Korea. At the same time, these technologies are being adopted in a country that has one of the most rigid social hierarchies of any country on earth. You basically have a caste system where social welfare provision of good jobs, access to health care, and access to education is tightly controlled—only available to those who are considered good citizens and denied to those who have a negative history within the country. So, it's very limited in terms of who's going to have access to it, and the social control mechanisms are very rigid. We're not looking at a situation that's going to lead inevitably to some sort of Jasmine Revolution within North Korea; but we are seeing seeds that have been planted within the North that over a very long period of time (perhaps a decade or so) could have a potentially transformative impact on the state. STEPHEN NOERPER: Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, made note of the fact that Orascom, the Egyptian company, was able to put a million cell phones in the hands of North Korean users (one would think mainly in the Pyongyang area) and questioned why that couldn't lead to the use of the Internet. He also made note that the remaining 23 million North Koreans did not have access to the Internet. Supposedly, Google has been invited for return visits. What do you make of his observation that the majority of the population doesn't have access to the Internet? What opportunity do you think lies ahead for Google and other companies to engage with North Korea to provide information technology? SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: Well, I think there is now an open door for companies like Google to engage with North Korea, noting that it has to be in line with the goals of the regime. Working with the North is business diplomacy on behalf of Google. In terms of the availability of access, the North Koreans will allow greater access to the Internet and information technology to the extent they believe they can control its impact on the population. What you saw at a certain point was a picture of the head of Orascom meeting with Kim Jong-il (who was alive at the time) and in the background was the head of the State Security Department. The meaning behind that picture was that the state security mechanism had blessed the introduction of mobile phones into North Korea. They wouldn't have done that unless they believed they could control their impact. So, there is potential to expand the use of this technology, and North Korea is certainly interested in that. It would provide productivity gains for the state. It could also be a tool for bringing in foreign direct investment from the outside world. Most importantly, it could be a blessing—a domestic system where government controls can be used to crack down on some of the rogue systems using Chinese cell phones near the border. This is becoming a problem in the North. That being said, these systems are only going to be allowed in the North as long as the North believes it can control the repercussions of these systems on its population. We really have to moderate our expectations as to how much the North can do. I think there's also opportunity here (since the use of the Internet has been blessed by the North Koreans as a way of bringing in information about development) for NGOs and others to try and engage with these groups in the North. It gives them the ability to feed relevant development information into the system; and to try and engage the North through research education networks, virtual science libraries, and other tools that would allow the North to control access to this technology. NGOs could build on the use of it within the North to possibly help steer the North in a positive direction developmentally. That would hopefully lead to better relations with the outside world that would be seen as more of an incentive than a threat to the regime. STEPHEN NOERPER: I have one final question, Scott. We have both the least wired and the most wired countries in the world sharing the Demilitarized Zone. Do you see the potential for North-South cooperation, especially with the incoming Park Geun-hye administration? Is the potential to share information technology between Pyongyang and Seoul through her suggestion of liaison offices a possibility? SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: I believe there is an opportunity to explore whether North-South cooperation is possible under a new government in the South. It remains to be seen what sort of traction that's going to get; but there's been many ideas along this line that have been explored in the past. One idea was that of virtual family reunions. Many families have been divided between the North and the South for sixty years. Were there to be some way to set up video conferences or something similar at controlled locations between the North and the South, that would be a tremendous opportunity for these divided families; one that would be very meaningful to the Korean people on both sides of the border. It also opens up the possibility for the South to consider outsourcing IT to North Korea. They speak a common language, are fairly close geographically, and the cost of labor in the North would be very affordable. So, there's a lot of grounds that could be built upon in terms of IT cooperation and inter-Korean relations. It just remains to be seen what sort of traction they're going to have, and how much will be encouraged in the midst of so many other issues on the agenda between the North and the South, such as the divided maritime boundaries, the nuclear program, and rocket launches. STEPHEN NOERPER: Scott Thomas Bruce of CRDF Global, thank you very much. SCOTT THOMAS BRUCE: My pleasure. 
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The Korea Society’s Dr. Stephen Noerper interviews Scott Thomas Bruce of CRDF Global on the Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt’s recent trip to North Korea. Mr. Bruce discusses the significance of Eric Schmidt’s visit, the implications of North Korea’s possible opening to information technology, opportunities for NGOs to engage with the the DPRK, and future potential inter-Korean cooperation in the field of information technology. Eric Schmidt’s Visit? A Double-edged Sword? NGO... Read More
North Korea Launch: Rapid Reaction from The Korea Society

Thursday, December 13, 2012 | 5:00 PM
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An Overview Consequences and Diplomacy? Capabilities, Legitimacy and Electoral Impact? Why Now and To What End? U.S. Responses and China’s Role? A Financial Sector Minute Diplomatic Shortcomings and Ways Forward? North Korea's Launch: The Day After The Korea Society's Rapid Reaction Podcast Recording - The Korea Society presents perspectives on North Korea's December 11, 2012 launch with The Korea Society... Read More

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