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The East-West Center in Washington and National Committee on North Korea invite you to the
North Korea in the World Webinar Series:
A Monumental Relationship: North Korea and Southern Africa
Featuring:
Mr. Tycho van der Hoog
PhD Candidate,
African Studies Centre Leiden
Mr. Ross Tokola (Moderator)
Executive Associate to the Director,
East-West Center in Washington
Mr. Keith Luse (Opening Remarks)
Executive Director,
National Committee on North Korea
East-West Center in Washington · A Monumental Relationship: North Korea and Southern Africa
This webinar looked at North Korea’s historical involvement in anti-colonial and anti-Apartheid movements in southern Africa, looking particularly at its support for Namibian independence. The discussion then turned to North Korea’s continuing economic and military ties, and its “statue diplomacy” with Namibia and other countries in the region, looking at whether UN sanctions have largely brought these relations to a close. Mr. Van der Hoog has also recently published on this topic; read Monuments of power: the North Korean origin of nationalist monuments in Namibia and Zimbabwe here.
This North Korea in the World webinar was the sixth in a series examining North Korea’s historical and contemporary relations with countries in the Global South. The North Korea in the World project is a joint initiative of the National Committee on North Korea and the East-West Center in Washington; the NorthKoreaInTheWorld.org website collects and curates information and data on North Korea’s external economic and diplomatic relations.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Mr. Tycho van der Hoog is a PhD candidate at the African Studies Centre Leiden and is working on the project “Blood, Bullets and Bronze: The North Korean Involvement in Southern Africa, 1960-2020.” His research specifically deals with the diplomatic, military, and economic ties between the DPRK and African liberation movements. He has previously taught at the BA program Korean Studies at Leiden University and has worked as a project researcher at the Leiden Asia Center, where he investigated North Korean forced labor in Africa. His monograph Monuments of Power: The North Korean Origin of Nationalist Heritage in Namibia and Zimbabwe appeared in 2019. He has conducted extensive field research in Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Korea.
Mr. Ross Tokola is the Executive Associate to the Director at the East-West Center in Washington, where he gives advice and support to the Director on ongoing near-term and long-term strategic projects and programs. He is also responsible for the Congressional Staff Program on Asia and for North Korea in the World. Previously, Mr. Tokola was a Program Officer at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies during his five years in Seoul, and worked for the US embassies both in the Republic of Korea and in the United Kingdom. In addition to studying the Korean language at Sogang University in Seoul, he holds a B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from Heythrop College, University of London, and a M.Phil. in International Relations from the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Mr. Keith Luse is the Executive Director of the National Committee on North Korea. Previously, Luse was the Senior East Asia Policy Advisor for Chairman and later Ranking Member Senator Richard G. Lugar at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2003 until 2013. Luse also served as Staff Director for Mr. Lugar at the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1999 through 2002, where the Senator also served as Chairman and later Ranking Member. While at the Senate Agriculture Committee, Luse made the first of eventually five trips to North Korea. Luse’s Bachelor of Arts degree in political science is from Indiana University. His graduate certificate in public management and additional graduate studies were obtained at Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis.
The East-West Center in Washington and National Committee on North Korea invite you to the
North Korea in the World Webinar Series:
A Monumental Relationship: North Korea and Southern Africa
Featuring:
Mr. Tycho van der Hoog
PhD Candidate,
African Studies Centre Leiden
Mr. Ross Tokola (Moderator)
Executive Associate to the Director,
East-West Center in Washington
Mr. Keith Luse (Opening Remarks)
Executive Director,
National Committee on North Korea
East-West Center in Washington · A Monumental Relationship: North Korea and Southern Africa
This webinar looked at North Korea’s historical involvement in anti-colonial and anti-Apartheid movements in southern Africa, looking particularly at its support for Namibian independence. The discussion then turned to North Korea’s continuing economic and military ties, and its “statue diplomacy” with Namibia and other countries in the region, looking at whether UN sanctions have largely brought these relations to a close. Mr. Van der Hoog has also recently published on this topic; read Monuments of power: the North Korean origin of nationalist monuments in Namibia and Zimbabwe here.
This North Korea in the World webinar was the sixth in a series examining North Korea’s historical and contemporary relations with countries in the Global South. The North Korea in the World project is a joint initiative of the National Committee on North Korea and the East-West Center in Washington; the NorthKoreaInTheWorld.org website collects and curates information and data on North Korea’s external economic and diplomatic relations.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Mr. Tycho van der Hoog is a PhD candidate at the African Studies Centre Leiden and is working on the project “Blood, Bullets and Bronze: The North Korean Involvement in Southern Africa, 1960-2020.” His research specifically deals with the diplomatic, military, and economic ties between the DPRK and African liberation movements. He has previously taught at the BA program Korean Studies at Leiden University and has worked as a project researcher at the Leiden Asia Center, where he investigated North Korean forced labor in Africa. His monograph Monuments of Power: The North Korean Origin of Nationalist Heritage in Namibia and Zimbabwe appeared in 2019. He has conducted extensive field research in Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Korea.
Mr. Ross Tokola is the Executive Associate to the Director at the East-West Center in Washington, where he gives advice and support to the Director on ongoing near-term and long-term strategic projects and programs. He is also responsible for the Congressional Staff Program on Asia and for North Korea in the World. Previously, Mr. Tokola was a Program Officer at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies during his five years in Seoul, and worked for the US embassies both in the Republic of Korea and in the United Kingdom. In addition to studying the Korean language at Sogang University in Seoul, he holds a B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from Heythrop College, University of London, and a M.Phil. in International Relations from the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Mr. Keith Luse is the Executive Director of the National Committee on North Korea. Previously, Luse was the Senior East Asia Policy Advisor for Chairman and later Ranking Member Senator Richard G. Lugar at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2003 until 2013. Luse also served as Staff Director for Mr. Lugar at the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1999 through 2002, where the Senator also served as Chairman and later Ranking Member. While at the Senate Agriculture Committee, Luse made the first of eventually five trips to North Korea. Luse’s Bachelor of Arts degree in political science is from Indiana University. His graduate certificate in public management and additional graduate studies were obtained at Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis.
