Back from the Brink? Prospects for Inter-Korean Dialogue, Past and Present

The inter-Korean dialogue of 1971-1972 marked the first significant thaw between the rival regimes on the peninsula. To this day, the July 4th North-South Joint Communique of 1972 is considered a milestone in inter-Korean relations. Drawing upon newly declassified documents from the archives of Romania, (East) Germany, Bulgaria, South Korea, and North Korea, scholars Bernd Schaefer, Jongdae Shin, and Sunwon Park will examine the lessons of the first breakthrough on the peninsula, and apply them to the recent warming of relations and renewed dialogue.

Speakers

• Bernd Schaefer
  Senior Scholar, Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson Center
• Jongdae Shin
  Visiting Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center
• Sunwon Park
  Northeast Asia Energy and Security Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution
• John Park, Moderator
  Senior Research Associate and Director of the Korea Working Group, U.S. Institute of Peace