June 2019
Toward a Peace Process on the Korean Peninsula: Feasible Next Steps
After the Hanoi Summit between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in February 2019, talks between North Korea and the US have stalled. At the summit, the US side brushed aside the possibility of setting up a roadmap toward denuclearisation and a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula. Instead, the US Administration put forward a lop-sided deal involving sanctions relief in return for full denuclearisation. While all sides declared their commitment to diplomatic solutions, a return to the negotiation table seems difficult at this stage.
During the panel discussion, key experts from South Korea and Europe will discuss feasible steps that might help to resume a diplomatic rapprochement. They will explore possible, alternative consultation formats – such as working groups of denuclearization and conflict resolution experts – which could be used to negotiate a peace process as well as the underlying risks of such formats. We will also focus which role the EU could play in resolution efforts in the foreseeable future.
Find out more »October 2019
The Korean Peninsula in Flux: Nuclear Weapons, Trade, Peace
The Korean Peninsula in Flux: Nuclear Weapons, Trade, Peace Tuesday 1 October, 11.00 - 15.00 PM, Press Club 11.00 Opening remarks by H.E. Kim Hyoung-zhin, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Belgium and the EU 11.10 - 12.30 Session 1 | Nukes or Peace? Dealing with North Korea Mr. Glyn Ford | Founder of Polint & Former MEP Speaker Amb. Kim Won-soo | Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University and former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs at the UN Speaker Dr.…
Find out more »South Korea at the Crossroads: Security and Economic Regional Strategy in a Fluid Environment
Positioning itself as a ‘middle power’, South Korea has promoted an increasingly proactive regional diplomacy, in particular by organizing a diversity of high-level multilateral gatherings on regional security governance, such as the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI) or the Seoul Defense Dialogue.
Still, outcomes remain limited, for the ROK diplomacy tends to be monopolized by the complexity of the North Korean issue. Recent evolutions on the Korean peninsula, as well as the power shift between the US and China is pushing Seoul to adapt and make decisive choices about its future: inside or outside the US security architecture? What stance should Korea take towards China's proposal of a "new security architecture" in the region? How does ROK position itself towards the Indo-pacific initiatives?
Trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific dialogue: Alliances at crossroads
On October 29, the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at Brookings hosted the second annual Brookings-Vrije Universiteit Brussel-Asan Institute conference on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific alliances. Following the first conference of the series in Brussels in 2018, the second conference assessed the impact of the Trump administration’s “America First” policy on alliance relations and examined alliances in the age of deepening U.S.-China strategic competition.
Find out more »February 2020
New year, new approach: What’s next for DPRK affairs in 2020?
Korea Risk Group has held an inaugural Brussels briefing event on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, intended to help policy-makers, senior researchers and business leaders better understand the year ahead for all-things DPRK, in cooperation with KF-VUB Korea Chair.
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