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On 14 June, KF-VUB Korea Chair and CSIS Korea Chair jointly organised a discussion about the recent flurry of diplomatic activities in the Korean Peninsula, including the main takeaways of the inter-Korean summit, the significance of the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, and the prospects of denuclearization and peace with North Korea.

Featuring: Dr. Victor Cha (CSIS Korea Chair), HE Kim Hyoung-zhin (Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Belgium and the EU), Dr. Janka Oertel (Transatlantic Fellow in the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States), and Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair).

Visit the event page.

Latest publications

Foreign Policy Looks South: Seoul’s ‘New Southern Policy’

July 2018 | KF-VUB KOREA CHAIR POLICY BRIEF Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in the middle of a trip to India and Singapore. This visits fits within Seoul’s ‘New Southern Policy’, an effort by the Moon government to strengthen economic and...

Kim Jong-un’s Tools of Coercion

Dr. Jung H. Pak – Last fall and winter, the world was tense with the real possibilities of a military conflict breaking out on the Korean Peninsula as a result of Kim Jong-un’s testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the North’s sixth and largest nuclear test, and the rhetorical war…Read more.

U.S.-North Korea Summit Explained: the Key Players’ Views

13 June 2018 | KOREA CHAIR EXPLAINS Dr Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Dr Tongfi Kim, Dr Janka Oertel, Linde Desmaele This edition of Korea Chair Explains offers the views of South Korea, the U.S., Japan and China on the U.S.-North Korea Summit of 12 June 2018. South Korean...

The Second Moon-Kim Summit: the Koreas Decide to Take Control

28 May 2018 | KOREA CHAIR EXPLAINS Dr Ramon Pacheco Pardo South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit on Saturday. It is no exaggeration to state that this meeting was as, if not more, significant than their first...

Jobs, Fairness and Peace: the First Anniversary of the Moon Government

May 2018 | KF-VUB KOREA CHAIR POLICY BRIEF Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo One year from his election, Moon Jae-in is a very popular president with approval ratings hovering around 80 per cent. The reason for his popularity is, to an extent, fairly simple: he has followed the...

Inter-Korean Summit Explained: the Key Players’ Views

27 April 2018 | KOREA CHAIR EXPLAINS Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Dr. Tongfi Kim, Linde Desmaele, Dr. Janka Oertel South Korean Views of the Inter-Korean Summit: Hope for Peace but also Caution by Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo Japanese Views of the Inter-Korean Summit: Left Out...

From Nuclear Threats to Nuclear Talks: a Big Win for President Donald Trump?

April 2018 | KF-VUB KOREA CHAIR POLICY BRIEF Linde Desmaele U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the world by accepting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s invitation to talk, thereby setting the scene for potentially the first ever meeting between a North Korean...

North Korea’s High-Level Delegation China Visit: a Necessary Step

27 March 2018 | KOREA CHAIR EXPLAINS Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo The announcement that a high-level delegation from North Korea, perhaps including its leader Kim Jong-un or his sister Kim Yo-jong, is currently in China suggests a necessary thaw in relations between both...

The Potential Trump-Kim Summit: History in the Making

9 March 2018 | KOREA CHAIR EXPLAINS Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo The announcement of a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is truly historic. No sitting US president has ever met with North Korea’s leader. Former...

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces of North Korean Threat on the U.S.-Japan-ROK Cooperation

March 2018 | KF-VUB KOREA CHAIR POLICY BRIEF Dr. Tongfi Kim The shared threat emanating from Pyongyang creates a centripetal force that binds Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul because the three partners need mutual assistance. On the other hand, however, the high stakes...

Podcast: Assessing Inter-Korean and US-North Korea Relations

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Jonathan Cheng to discuss the current state of inter-Korean and US-North Korea relations, as well as his experience covering recent summits involving North Korea. Featuring: Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair) &...

Podcast: Assessing Pompeo’s visit to North Korea, 9 July 2018

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Elise Hu and John Delury to discuss Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's third visit to North Korea and to reflect about developments in the Korean Peninsula throughout 2017-18. Featuring: Ramon Pacheco Pardo, KF-VUB Korea...

Podcast: Assessing The Trump-Kim Summit, 14 June 2018

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Tongfi Kim and Linde Desmaele to discuss the responses of key players (China, Japan, U.S., South Korea) to the 12th June summit in Singapore between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un....

About the Chair

The KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Institute for European Studies is the primary contact point in Europe on policy issues related to Korea and the Korean Peninsula.

A joint initiative between the Korea Foundation and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the Chair plays a strategic role in furthering Europe-Korea relations. It builds links between Europe and Korea through a number of activities and partnerships, and contributes actively to increasing the possibilities for their future cooperation on bilateral, regional and global levels.

The KF-VUB Korea Chair was launched in Brussels in October 2017 and in Seoul in May 2018. It acts as an independent platform in Brussels and across Europe to advance academically rigorous and informed discussions on policy questions that are of relevance to the Republic of Korea and Europe. It conducts policy research and discussions on a wide range of areas including nuclear weapons and WMD, trade, finance, cyber security, counter-terrorism, climate change, science and technology, among others.

The Chair holder is Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo who is also a Senior Lecturer at King’s College London.

Read the KF-VUB Korea Chair booklet for more information.