[Global NK Online Seminar] Is Denuclearization of DPRK still Viable? |
As part of the Global NK Zoom & Connect project, the East Asia Institute (President Yul Sohn) held an online webinar titled “Is Denuclearization of DPRK Still Viable?” The webinar, participated by Bee Yun Jo (Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses), John Park (Director of the Korea Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center), Won Gon Park (EAI Chair of the North Korea Research Center; Professor at Ewha Womans University), and Seongho Sheen (Professor at Seoul National University), analyzed and forecasted Pyongyang’s nuclear posture following its “Law on Nuclear Forces” and its extensive provocations following the Russo-Ukrainian war. Experts from the United States and South Korea discussed issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s nuclear policies, President Yoon’s Audacious Initiative, the credibility of the United States’ extended deterrence, paths to denuclearization, the influence of great power rivalry on North Korea’s calculations, and explored deals North Korea can accept and South Korea’s role in developing a denuclearization roadmap. |
[Global NK Commentary] A Decade Under the Millennial Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un |
Jeong Won Na, a researcher at Seoul Pyongyang News, depicts Kim Jong-un as a trend-sensitive and adventurous leader and provides an overview of the recent changes in North Korea. He states that the symbolic importance of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il has been visibly reduced as Kimilsungia and Kimjongillia flowers disappeared after 2019 and the virtues of patriotism and nationalism have been brought forward as their substitutes. In addition, Dr. Na views that supreme leader Kim has been aiming to improve the regime durability by actively restoring a party-centered management structure, given that important policies have actually been decided during Party sessions ever since the 7th Congress of the Workers` Party of Korea was reconvened in May 2016. |
|
