The Bomb and the Missiles: Whither North Korea?

Han Sung Joo, Professor Emeritus, Korea University; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea; 2017 Marshall M. Bouton Asia Fellow

The Bomb and the Missiles: Whither North Korea?

This year has seen North Korea test more than 20 missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles. North Korean state-run media and American experts now claim that much of the United States is in range for a nuclear strike. The rhetoric between the United States and North Korea has been harsh, yet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has indicated the US is willing to come to the table for talks with North Korea if the country abandons its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Can North Korea be persuaded to abandon its nuclear weapons program? What is the best path forward to promote peace and stability on the Korean peninsula?

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is honored to host Minister Han Sung-Joo, a top diplomat and thought leader on Northeast Asian security and US-Korea relations, as the 2017 Marshall M. Bouton Asia Fellow. Han will be in Chicago November 1-7.

Speaker Bio

Han Sung Joo

Professor Emeritus, Korea University; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea; 2017 Marshall M. Bouton Asia Fellow

Han Sung Joo is honorary chairman of the International Policy Studies Institute of Korea and professor emeritus at Korea University. He served as the minister of foreign affairs (during the first North Korean nuclear crisis in 1993-1994), UN secretary-general’s special representative for Cyprus (1996-1997), a member of the UN Inquiry Commission on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (1999), chairman of the East Asia Vision Group (2000-2001), ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States (2003-2005), and acting president of Korea University (2002, 2006-2007).

Previously, he taught at City University of New York (1970-1978) and was a visiting professor at Columbia University (1986-1987) and Stanford University (1992, 1995). He was also a distinguished fellow at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (1986-1987). His English publications include Korean Diplomacy in an Era of Globalization (1995), Korea in a Changing World (1995), and Changing Values in Asia (1999). He has many publications in Korean, including Nam Gwa Puk, Kurigo Sekye (“The Two Koreas and the World”) (2000).

Han is a graduate of Seoul National University (1962) and received a PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley (1970).

Pre-Reads

Talk of 'Preventive War' Rises in White House Over North Korea
David E. Sanger, The New York Times, August 20, 2017

End of the Line with North Korea?
Brian Hanson, Kori Schake, James Lindsay, Deep Dish, August 17, 2017

North Korea Now Seen as a Top Threat Facing the United States
Karl Friedhoff and Dina Smeltz, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, August 7, 2017

Schedule

5:15 p.m.
Registration

5:30 p.m.
Presentation and Q&A

6:30 p.m.
Networking reception

7:00 p.m.
Adjournment

About Bouton Fellowship

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs board of directors established the Marshall M. Bouton Asia Fellowship in recognition of Marshall M. Bouton, who served as president of the Council on Global Affairs from 2001 to 2013. This annual fellowship invites a prominent scholar, former senior policymaker, or public intellectual known for contributions to Asia’s economic and political development and/or international relations to spend one week as a visiting fellow at the Council on Global Affairs.