Episode 11: Jung H. Pak on US-North Korea summitry and a possible deal

Episode 11: Jung H. Pak on US-North Korea summitry and a possible deal

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Jung H. Pak to discuss her upcoming book “Becoming Kim Jong Un” and her insights on developments in North Korea which she gained as a CIA analyst and North Korea watcher since 2009. She talks about North Korean history, culture and politics, and explains differences between the three Kim leaders’ leadership style and, more generally, how a leader’s preferences and personality do shape foreign policy decisions. On the resumption of US-North Korea denuclearisation talks, she sees an urgency on the North Korean side to achieve some kind of deal, even if less ambitious than hoped, before the end of 2019. The Trump-Kim summitry has been highly personalised and, in face of upcoming US elections, there is no telling whether the process will be able to outlive Trump. Featuring: Jung H. Pak (SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies at Brookings Institution), Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair at Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Running time: 21 minutes
Episode 1: Bark Taeho, Trade Minister of the Republic of Korea (2011-13), on Korea’s trade policies and future challenges

Episode 1: Bark Taeho, Trade Minister of the Republic of Korea (2011-13), on Korea’s trade policies and future challenges

Welcome to Korea On The Record, a podcast series where we talk to key decision-makers about Korean foreign policy and their role in shaping it.

In the first episode, KF-VUB Korea Chair invites Bark Taeho, Trade Minister of the Republic of Korea (2011-13), to share his experiences in government while negotiating or implementing three key FTA’s (KORUS, EU-Korea FTA, China-Korea FTA) and his role at the WTO. (33 minutes)

Highlights:
– One of the main features of Korean trade policies is the multi-track approach of participating in multilateral, bilateral and regional trade discussions with the goal of securing export markets in both advanced and developing countries.

– Since the 1990’s, South Korea has succeeded in tremendously opening up its market, with the initial push coming from businesses. The trade agreements with the US, the EU and China were as much about enhancing exports as opening up the Korean market.

– Trade policies concerning high technology are becoming more regulated out of security concerns. US may be sensitive to do business with a South Korean investor if they are already doing business with a Chinese company. Likewise, Japan is also becoming more sensitive to how South Korea sources its technology. South Korean companies are approaching the EU as it has a more neutral policy stance.

Featuring: Bark Taeho (Trade Minister of the Republic of Korea, 2011-1, and current President of Lee&Ko Global Commerce Institute), Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair at Institute for European Studies)

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo (Twitter @rpachecopardo) invites Kim Hyun-wook and Rachel Minyoung Lee (Twitter @rachelminyoung1) to discuss the current state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula. Over the past months, following the unsuccessful summit in Hanoi, US-North Korea relations reached an impasse. After the historic meeting of President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the DMZ on June 30, there is a realistic chance that negotiations between the United States and North Korea towards denuclearisation and the lifting of sanctions can resume. This is also an opportunity for the South Korean government and President Moon to revive the inter-Korean peace process and to move forward with the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration.

Featuring: Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair), Kim Hyun-wook (Professor at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy) and Rachel Minyoung Lee (NK News Senior Analyst)

Running time: 27 minutes

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 9: KF-VUB Korea Chair on US President Trump’s visit to North Korea, 8 July

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo (Twitter @rpachecopardo) invites Tongfi Kim (Twitter @tongfi_kim) and Linde Desmaele (Twitter @dsm_ld) to assess the historical visit of US President Donald Trump to North Korea. They discuss how this was a win for the US and both Koreas, and whether there might be a deal before the 2020 US elections.

Featuring: Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair, Reader in International Relations at King’s College London), Tongfi Kim (Senior Researcher at the KF-VUB Korea Chair, Assistant Professor in International Relations at Vesalius College) & Linde Desmaele (Phd Researcher at the KF-VUB Korea Chair)

Running time: 26 minutes

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 8: Stephan Haggard on the Hanoi Trump-Kim Summit, 26 Feb

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo (Twitter @rpachecopardo) invites Stephan Haggard (Twitter @StephanHaggard) to discuss expectations for the nuclear negotiations at the 27-28 Feb Hanoi Summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Featuring: Stephan Haggard (Lawrence and Sallye Krause Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies and Director of the Korea-Pacific Program at UC San Diego) & Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair)

Running time: 26 minutes

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 7: Andrea Berger & John Nilsson-Wright on current US-DPRK and inter-Korean relations, 30 Nov

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Andrea Berger (Twitter @AndreaRBerger) and John Nilsson-Wright (Twitter @JNilssonWright) to discuss the current state of US-North Korea relations, recent developments in South Korea-North Korea relations and the role of China.

Featuring: Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair), Andrea Berger (Senior Research Associate at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies) & John Nilsson-Wright (Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House).

Running time: 32 minutes

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 6: On current US-DPRK and inter-Korean relations & next steps ahead, 22 Nov

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Duyeong Kim (Twitter @duyeongkim) and Youkyung Lee (Twitter @YKreports) to discuss the slowdown in current US-DPRK relations, with the second Trump-Kim summit remaining unconfirmed, in relation to the ongoing strengthening of inter-Korean relations, as well as the role of China in this process. Further discussed is Kim Jong-un’s potential visit to South Korea and what can be gained from it.

Featuring: Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair), Duyeon Kim (Adjunct Senior Fellow at Center for a New American Security) & Youkyung Lee (Government reporter at Bloomberg News).
Running time: 36 minutes

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 5: Assessing President Moon’s trip to Europe, 16 Oct

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo invites Jina Kim and Nicola Casarini to discuss the South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s trip to Europe, developments in the US-DPRK-ROK peace-making and denuclearisation process, and the invitation to the Pope to visit North Korea.

Featuring: Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair), Dr. Jina Kim (Research Fellow, Korea Institute For Defense Analysis) & Dr. Nicola Casarini (Senior Research Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali).
Running time: 31 minutes

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 4: Assessing the third inter-Korean summit of 2018

In this episode, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Tongfi Kim & Linde Desmaele discuss expectations for the third inter-Korean summit of 2018 between South Korean President Moon Jae in and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. This podcast was recorded on the first day of the summit and before any agreement was signed.

Featuring: Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo (KF-VUB Korea Chair), Dr. Tongfi Kim (KF-VUB Korea Chair Senior researcher) & Linde Desmaele (KF-VUB Korea Chair Phd candidate).
Running time: 22 minutes

 

Episode 10: Kim Hyun-wook & Rachel Minyoung Lee on North Korea, 17 July

Episode 3: 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) & Jonathan Cheng (Seoul Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal)
Running time: 26 minutes