Published on May 17, 2010
After a brief introduction by USKI Director Jae Ku and Ambassador Robert King, David Hawk, the former executive director of Amnesty International U.S., presented his new report, “Pursuing Peace While Advancing Rights: The Untried Approach to North Korea.” Following the presentation, the discussants, Professor Victor Cha and Dr. Sophie Richardson, each provided constructive and insightful comments, as well as criticisms. The event finished with a brief Q&A session during which human rights awareness problems in North Korea were further explored.
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Transcript | Pursuing Peace While Advancing Rights: The Untried Approach to North Korea (May 17, 2010)
Full Report | Pursuing Peace While Advancing Rights: The Untried Approach to North Korea, by David Hawk (May 2010)
Published on May 17, 2010
On May 17, 2010, the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS released a new report by David Hawk: “Pursuing Peace While Advancing Rights: The Untried Approach to North Korea.” This report argues that the reigning paradigm—the idea that either centrally involved nation-states seek to reconcile, engage, and negotiate with the DPRK, in which case raising human rights issues is taboo, or another government raises human rights issues but forgoes engagement and negotiations—is all wrong. This report seeks to make the case that the two should go hand in hand, and outlines an alternative paradigm, which combines the search for peace with the promotion of human rights, and suggests some ways that this alternative, as yet untried, approach might be pursued. read more …
Published on May 7, 2010
The U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS annouces the release of the fourth edition of the SAIS U.S. -Korea Yearbook.
Each fall semester at SAIS, the Korea Studies Program offers the course, “The Two Koreas: Contemporary Research and Record,” where students prepare an in-depth report on an issue of importance to Korean affairs in that year. As part of their research, students make a one-week research trip to Seoul to test their ideas with experts and officials. The SAIS U.S.-Korea Yearbook is a compilation of these student papers.
Student authors include: Tze Chin “Alvin” Wong, Paul Elliott, Sogaku Miyamoto, Ian Howard, Kee Hoon Chung, Jason Park, Momoko Sato, Neil K. Shenai, Nick Borst, Naoko Aoki, Zander Lanfried, and Sarah Yun.
Download the 2009 SAIS U.S.-Korea Yearbook.
Published on October 9, 2009
“The White Paper on North Korean Human Rights”
On October 8, 2009, the US-Korea Institute at SAIS and the National Endowment for Democracy co-sponsored a seminar on the status of human rights violations in North Korea, featuring Dr. Yoon Yeo-sang, President, Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB); and Mr. Kim Sang-hun, Chairman, Board of Directors, NKDB.
In this seminar, Dr. Yoon and Mr. Kim discussed the findings of the 2009 Annual White Paper published by the North Korean Human Rights Archive, and distributed through the North Korean Human Rights Database Center (NKDB). read more …
Published on September 25, 2008
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). read more …
Published on June 22, 2008
The third edition of the SAIS U.S.-Korea Yearbook chronicles important developments in North and South Korea that characterized their relations with their allies and enemies in 2008. Each chapter was written by SAIS students in the course, “The Two Koreas: Contemporary Research and Record,” in the fall of 2008. Their insights were based not only on extensive reading and study, but also on numerous interviews conducted with government officials, scholars, NGO workers, academics and private sector experts in both Washington and Seoul.
The Yearbook is divided into two parts: South Korea’s Foreign Relations and North Korea’s Foreign Relations. In the first part, student authors explore the dynamic foreign policy changes that were brought about by the Lee Myung-bak administration, and how these policies affected South Korean politics both at home and abroad. In the second part, student authors explore how shifting power dynamics both in the United States, as well as among the member states of the Six-Party Talks, affected North Korea’s foreign relations in 2008. read more …
Published on October 5, 2007
October 4, 2007
Stephen Linton, Chairman, Eugene Bell Foundation
As Chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation, Stephen Linton has made dozens of visits to the DPRK since 1979, providing medicine and equipment to curb tuberculoses. Unlike most others, Linton was not restricted to Pyongyang, but visited other cities and towns in the countryside. At SAIS, Linton described the great changes he has observed in the information available to citizens over the years.
This program was off the record, so no audio is available.
The Eugene Bell Foundation is the name for two humanitarian organizations that work together to provide developmental assistance to North Korea. It currently coordinates the delivery of TB medication, diagnostic equipment, and supplies to 1/3 of the North Korean population and over forty North Korean treatment facilities (hospitals and care centers).
