Filed Under: Defense, Economy, Events, Human Rights, Inter-Korean Politics, North Korea, Politics, Social Issues, South Korea, U.S.-DPRK relations, Unification

September 24, 2008

Venerable Pomnyun Sunmin and his delegation of North Korea experts came to SAIS to talk about the current situation in North Korea. His delegation was composed of experts from various institutions in South Korea and make up The Peace Foundation and Good Friends’ organizations. He brought a collection of experts on political, economic, unification, defense, and security matters.

Venerable Pomnyun began the evening describing the developing famine in North Korea and its differences from the famine that affected the country in the 1990s; the primary difference being that the famine had affected the lower echelons of the party. The famine has also created secondary affects in increase in petty crime and the development of a market system. The delegation then discussed the political situation and possible four scenarios as it relates to North Korea and its relations with the U.S. and South Korea that can come out of the current impasse. (Summary by Mike Yo, Korea Studies, SAIS).

Download full transcript of Venerable Pomnyun’s and Dr. Cho’s remarks.

Download a copy of Pomnyun Presentation: North Korea Updates

Download a copy of Dr. Cho’s presentation, Current North-South Korean Relationships and Their Prospects

About the Speakers

Venerable Pomnyun
Chairman, Good Friends and The Peace Foundation


Venerable Pomnyun is the chairman of The Peace Foundation and a Zen master in the Jungto Society. He also currently serves as the chairman of Good Friends for Peace, Human Rights and Refugee Issues and The Joint Togetherness Society. Venerable Pomnyun has been advocating for peace on the Korean Peninsula since 1997. He has also worked extensively to supply humanitarian aid to famine victims in North Korea and defend the human rights of North Korean refugees in China. In recognition of his efforts, Venerable Pomnyun won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding in September of 2002.

Cho Seong-Ryoul
Director, New Security Studies Program at the Institute for National Security Strategy; Board Member, The Peace Foundation

Cho Seong-Ryoul is a member of The Peace Foundation’s board of directors as well as the director of the new security studies program at the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS). Prior to joining INSS, Cho was a research fellow at the Research Institute for International Affairs in South Korea and a visiting fellow at both Tokyo University and Keio University in Japan. Cho holds a BS in chemical engineering from Seoul National University and an MA and Ph.D. in political science from Sungkyunkwan University. His writing on military and international issues in Northeast Asia has appeared in U.S. Forces in Korea: Retrospect and Prospect and The Korea Peace Regime: Denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the Future of North Korea.