Three rounds of the Six-Party Talks have made no progress. Despite some small movement, the Korean situation remains essentially stalemated through 2004 and the prospects for an early breakthrough seem bleak. The United States and North Korea are reexamining their positions and trying to repackage them to make them more attractive. While the North Korean nuclear crisis has divided Washington and Seoul, it has had the opposite effect on Washington’s relations with Tokyo. Japan has taken a hard line on dealing with the North. China has been playing the role of broker between Washington and Pyongyang. A breakthrough may occur as a result of negotiations, or the tension on the peninsula may increase if Washington decides to escalate economic pressure and to seek international inspections of North Korean ships and cargo movements. How the foreign policy of the second-term Bush administration will affect the North Korean nuclear problem will become a matter of great attention.
2006 will be a crucial period for the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem and inter-Korean relations. Better understanding of two Koreas and more focus on South-North relations are crucial for the future development of the Korean peninsula and the region. For the next few years, the East-West Center and POSCO Visiting Fellows will study such topics as:
- Prospects for the Six-Party Talks
- Prospects for South-North Korean relations
- Prospect for US-North Korean relations
- Changing South-North Korean relations and their implications for US-ROK alliance and regional security order
- Prospects for North Korea’s reform and opening
Back to POSCO Visiting Fellowships
Back to Visiting Fellowships