North Korea

Join us for a discussion about scenarios for North Korean development and inter-Korean economic integration. Seoul National University economics Professor Byung-Yeon Kim, former World Bank economist and a consultant on Asian affairs Brad Babson, and NK Pro analyst Peter Ward join Korea Society President Tom Byrne in conversation. Together, they investigate what domestic reforms will be necessary to empower development and forecast potential roles for South Korea, the U.S. and the international community. Korea Society Policy Director Jonathan Corrado moderates audience questions.

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This program is supported by a grant from the UniKorea Foundation.
This event is co-sponsored by the Columbia Business School’s APEC Study Center.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Byung-Yeon Kim is Professor in the Department of Economics at Seoul National University (SNU) and the author of Unveiling the North Korean Economy: Collapse and Transition (2017). His research interests lie in the fields of transition economics and applied econometrics, in particular with reference to North Korea as well as former socialist countries. He received his B.A. and M.A. from SNU and his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford.

Brad Babson worked for the World Bank for 26 years before retiring in 2000 and has studied the North Korean economy and written extensively on economic perspectives on the integration of North Korea into the international community. He serves on the Advisory Council of the Korea Economic Institute of America, the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council on the Korean Peninsula, and the Steering Committee of the National Committee for North Korea. He was formerly theChair of the DPRK Economic Forum at the U.S.-Korea Institute, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He has consulted for the World Bank and United Nations and been involved in projects sponsored by various institutes, foundations and universities.

Peter Ward is a writer and researcher focusing on the North Korean economy, as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna.

The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) executive director Greg Scarlatoiu and Bush Institute senior fellow Victor Cha join senior director Stephen Noerper for a discussion of human rights in North Korea and its placement on the Biden administration’s new policy agenda. The event marks the anniversary of the historic UN Commission of Inquiry report release. This program is made possible thanks to support from the Korea Foundation.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Victor Cha joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. in May 2009 as a senior adviser and the inaugural holder of the Korea Chair. He is professor of government and holds the D.S. Song-KF Chair in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University. In July 2019, he was appointed vice dean for faculty and graduate affairs in SFS. He left the White House in 2007 after serving since 2004 as director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). At the White House, he was responsible primarily for Japan, the Korean peninsula, Australia/New Zealand, and Pacific Island nation affairs.

Greg Scarlatoiu is the Executive Director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) in Washington, D.C. He has coordinated 28 HRNK publications addressing North Korea’s human rights situation and the operation of its regime. He is a visiting professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul as well as instructor and coordinator of the Korean Peninsula and Japan class at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI). Scarlatoiu is vice president of the executive board of the International Council on Korean Studies (ICKS). He is also a member of the advisory board for The Korea and World Politics Institute. Prior to HRNK, Scarlatoiu was with the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) in Washington, D.C.