The Outlier: North Korea

Panel Event at Asan Plenum 2018 on North Korean relations and the Kim regime’s intentions.

Moderator:
David Sanger, The New York Times

Speakers:
Kim Joon-hyung, Handong Global University
Andrei Lankov, Kookmin University
Gary Samore, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center
Tanaka Hitoshi, Japan Research Institute, Ltd.
Zhao Quansheng, American University

Panel Description
No country has more vehemently rejected the tenets of the liberal international order than North Korea. Yet despite the imposition of multiple rounds of sanctions and universal condemnation of its nuclear and missile programs, North Korea is not just surviving; it’s more dangerous now than ever before. In 2017, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear weapon test and launched an ICBM capable of reaching the United States. While the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un could herald a new era in North Korean relations, many are skeptical of the Kim regime’s intentions. Is the international community out of options for denuclearizing North Korea? Can peace be maintained on the Korean Peninsula without ceding to North Korean demands? How is Kim Jong Un different from or similar to his predecessors? Is he a rational player who can be relied upon making good his promises?