Washington North Korea Roundtable

Summary
The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation, Inc. (ISR), an independent, non-partisan think tank, has been hosting "Washington North Korea Roundtable" since June, 1998. The forum is the meeting place of all concerned about Korean issues, encouraging frank discussions.

Format
The participants include distinguished experts on North Korea in non-governmental organizations, think tanks, academic institutions, governments, and business community. The forum usually starts with a set dinner individually paid by participants, and turns to the dialogue with speakers' presentation to be followed by discussion with the audience.

History
As of May, 2000, the ISR has hosted the seven roundtables on North Korea. (See World Food Programme's Relief, website www.reliefweb.int, and the Nautilus Institute's Napsnet daily report, www.napsnet.org, on record) with highly distinguished speakers from think tanks, United Nations, and non-governmental organizations. All together, about 40 highly-profiled speakers have shared their expert views with about 400 active participants.

Roundtable 1, June 22, 1998
"Prospects for Relief and Development"
addressing the current crisis in North Korea and assessing prospects for food, public health, and agricultural rehabilitation. The half-day forum ended with a press conference. (Co-sponsors: World Vision, and The Korea Society)

The speakers in the two panels included:

• Milton Amayun
  (Medical specialist, World Vision)
• M. Aslam Aziz
  (Minister Counselor of Development Affairs, European Union)
• Asaph Young Chun
  (President, Institute for Strategic Reconciliation, Inc.)
• Mark Kirk
  (Counsel, Committee on International Relations, US House of Representatives)
• Kathleen Newland
  (Senior Associate of International Migration Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
• Ven. Pomnyun
  (Executive Director, Good Friends)
• Richard Ragan
  (Director for DHH, National Security Council)
• Ed Reed
  (Country Director for North Korea, World Vision)
• Joelle Tanguy
  (Executive Director, Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders)

Roundtable 2, Dec. 17, 1998
" Relief and Development toward Reconciliation"

The speakers included:

• Andrew Natsios
  (Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace),
• Joseph Scalise
  (Director, UN World Food Programme Washington Office)
• Tom Torrance
  (Director of North Korea Economic Affairs, U.S. Department of State)

Roundtable 3, February 11
"America's Economic Engagement with North Korea: Assessment and Prospects"

The speakers included:

• Patrick Cronin
  (Director of Research and Studies, US Institute of Peace)
• Mark Kirk
  (Counsel to The US House International Relations Committee)
• Philip W. Yun
  (Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State Stanley O. Roth, and Washington liaison and staff representative for former Secretary of Defense Dr. William Perry, Special Advisor to the President for North Korea Policy)

Roundtable 4, April 15, 1999
"Measures Preventing the 21st Century Famine of North Korea and Strategies Empowering Reconciliation of the Two Koreas"

The speakers in the two panels included:

• M. Aslam Aziz
  (Minister Counselor of Development Affairs, European Union)
• Cynthia Choi
  (Executive Director, Join Together Society, NY)
• Asaph Young Chun
  (President, Institute for Strategic Reconciliation, Inc.)
• Susan Soon-Keum
  (Cox, Director of Public Policy, Holt International Children's Services)
• Deborah DeYoung
  (Assistant to Congressman)
• Tony Hall Nick Eberstadt
  (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute)
• Victor Hsu
  (Director of Church World Service, National Council of Churches of Christ, USA Mark Kirk, Counsel to the US House International Relations Committee)
• Omawale Omawale
  (Former Director of Pyongynag Office, UNICEF)
• Syungman Rhee
  (Former President of National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
• Tom Shortley
  (North Korea Desk Officer, WFP)
• Tom Torrance
  (North Korea Economic Affairs, US Department of State)
• Chang Suk Yang
  (First Secretary, the Unification Ministry of Republic of Korea)

Roundtable 5, June 25, 1999
"Engaging North Korea and Responses to Energy Crisis"

The speakers included:

• Marc Vogellar
  (Director of the Public and External Promotion and Support, The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO))
• David Shear
  (Deputy Director of the Office of the Korean Affairs, US Department of State)

Roundtable 6, Dec. 16, 1999
"Assessments of the 5-years of the US Emergency Assistance to North Korea, and Prospects for the US Aid in Y2K to North Korea"

The speaker was:

• Len Rogers
  (Assistant Administrator, US Agency for International Development)

Roundtable 7, May 15, 2000
"Pyongyang Summit of the Two Koreas Towards Reconciliation and Unity" & "New Policy of the United States towards DPR Korea"

The speakers in the two panels included:

• Asaph Young Chun
  (President, Institute for Strategic Reconciliation)
• Bruce Cumings
  (Norman and Edna Freehling Professor of International History and East Asian Political Economy, University of Chicago)
• Donald P. Gregg
  (Chairman, The Korea Society and former US Ambassador to South Korea)
• John Merill
  (Korea Analyst, US Department of State)
• John B. Mulligan
  (Director of Project Operations, Korean Peninsula Energy Devlopment Organization)
• Yoon-joe Shim
  (Counselor, Republic of Korea Embassy to the U.S.)
• Rev. Inhwa Sohn
  (Chairman, The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation)
• Mike Spirtas
  (Senior Fellow & Director of Foreign Policy Program, Center for National Policy)
• Stephen Szabo
  (Professor of European Studies, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University)
• Young-Kwan Yoon
  (Professor, International Political Economy, Seoul National University)