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Mr. Lee Goes to Washington
October, 2011 l On the Issues by John S. Park
John Park analyzes prospects for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit to the United States October 13. A stalwart U.S. ally with increasing global reach, President Lee will be granted the rare privilege for a foreign head of state: addressing a joint session of Congress. Under the leadership of both presidents, the U.S.-South Korean alliance has been a key factor in preventing conflict on the Korean Peninsula by keeping a belligerent North Korea in check.
The U.S.-North Korea "Exploratory" Meeting in New York: Why Now?
July 2011 | On the Issues by John S. Park
John Park analyzes prospects for the July 28-29 U.S.-North Korea “exploratory” meeting in New York. After more than two years of “strategic patience” exercised by the United States in not rushing into negotiations with North Korea without its firm commitment to denuclearization, why is this bilateral meeting taking place now?
USIP Launches Track 1.5 Project on Preventing Nuclear Security Breaches
May, 2011
Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace co-convenved the 1st Seoul Nuclear Summit Security Group (SNS3G) workshop that is the first a series of prepatory workshops leading up to the 2012 nuclear security summit in Seoul. | Read more
USIP's Korea Working Group Convenes 4th U.S.-South Korean Track 1.5 Dialogue
March 10, 2011
USIP's Korea Working Group (KWG), headed by John Park, convened the 4th USIP-Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) Washington Workshop. Richard H. Solomon, president of USIP and chair of the KWG, gave the welcoming remarks. Abiodun Williams, vice president of USIP's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, introduced the keynote speaker, Ambassador Sung Kim, U.S. Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks.
The U.S. and South Korean panelists and participants examined the implications of North Korea's recent provocations, unveiling of its uranium enrichment facility, and accelerated leadership succession process on prospects for future negotiations with Pyongyang. | Read more
USIP Co-convenes "Risk Reduction and Confidence-Building on the Korean Peninsula" conference
January 19, 2011
In January 2011, USIP experts traveled to the Korean Peninsula for a conference co-convened by USIP's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention . The discussions addressed rising tensions in the region and explored ways to reduce risk and build confidence between the parties. | Read more
USIP's Korea Working Group Convenes U.S.-South Korean Track 1.5 Dialogue
June 15, 2010
On June 15, USIP's Korea Working Group convened the third USIP-Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) Washington Workshop. The U.S. and South Korean panelists examined the impact of the sinking of a South Korean warship by North Korea and how Kim Jong-Il's visit to China could impact prospects for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. | Read more
Project Chairs
John S. Park
Senior Program Officer (Northeast Asia), Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention
The Korea Working Group (KWG) brings together the leading Korea watchers from the government and think tank communities to discuss pressing policy issues in the political, security, social, and economic fields.
The chair of the KWG is Dr. Richard Solomon, president of the U.S. Institute of Peace. The director is John S. Park, a Northeast Asia specialist in the Institute’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention.
The Institute’s Korea Working Group (KWG) was re-launched in early 2007 at a time of renewed diplomatic activity focused on denuclearizing North Korea. Originally initiated by former Secretary of Defense Bill Perry in the late 1990s during the Perry Process, the KWG provided a non-partisan forum where Perry and his team could consult with North Korea experts in Washington, D.C. as the Clinton administration worked to revive its North Korea policy.
The KWG continues to bring together the leading North Korea watchers from the government and think tank communities to discuss key policy issues in the political, security, social, and economic fields. By convening these regular meetings, the Institute has been able to provide an important channel for analysts and policymakers from the United States and Asia who are working on different facets of North Korea policy to share differing perspectives on pressing issues.
Under the Six-Party Talks’ February 13, 2007 Agreement on Initial Implementation of Actions, five core working groups were established to lay out the coordinated steps required to effect the comprehensive denuclearization of North Korea. The KWG addresses the challenges facing Washington’s North Korea policy as they relate to these working groups. Of particular focus are the working groups on denuclearization, energy and economic assistance, peace and security mechanism, and U.S.-DPRK diplomatic normalization.
The Institute has convened closed KWG sessions on each of these topics with Deputy Secretary John Negroponte, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill (chief U.S. negotiator to the Six-Party Talks), Dr. Victor Cha (former Director of Asian Affairs on the National Security Council and deputy chief U.S. negotiator to the Six-Party Talks.), David Albright (a leading North Korean nuclear expert on the disablement process), Dr. David Asher (an architect of North Korean financial sanctions), and a U.S. delegation that conducted meetings in Beijing and the Sino-North Korean border region on Chinese perspectives on internal developments in North Korea.