The Koreas resume talks, The Current on CBC Radio

[CanKor Human Factor editor Jack Kim was one of three guests interviewed on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s public affairs programme “The Current” this morning, 10 June 2013, on CBC Radio 1. The following text is from the CBC.ca website. The 22 minute segment can be listened to by clicking on the image of host Anna Maria Tremonti below. –CanKor]

North and South Korea have gone from a chilling standoff, to the start of talks that could mean a thaw with plans for the first senior government talks in six long years. All of this comes just as the Presidents of the United States and China wrapped up their own weekend meetings promising greater cooperation. Today, we’re asking about the future of the two Koreas when the biggest players outside their borders aren’t interested in a fight.

Listen to The Current segment on Korea by clicking the image of host Anna Maria Tremonti below:

The Current: The Koreas resume talks

Ottawa Round Table Part 4 – CanKor Brain Trust on the Current Situation in the DPRK

CanKor Brain Trust on the Current Situation in the DPRK

by Paul Evans, Victor Hsu, Hazel Smith, Hark Kroll, Jeremy Paltiel and Jack Kim

Ottawa Round Table on Humanitarian Aid in the Current North Korean Context, 5 March 2012

Q: What dangers and opportunities can you foresee in the evolving situation?

Paul Evans, Professor, Liu Institute for Global Issues; Director, Institute of Asian Research, UBC:

Why assume that the KJU era will be any different? My only glimpse into the fog is the signal from the group that attended the six-month training program here that it was business as usual for a second phase, with no changes expected. I had dinner with a DPRK diplomat in Bangkok as part of an ARF meeting and more or less out of the blue he asked me how the UBC training program had gone and how we could find ways to get more DPRK students to Canada in future. Really out of context and it may be that he only guessed at a connection and my interest by seeing my card. But…

Victor Hsu, Visiting Professor, School of Public Policy and Management , Korea Development Institute (KDI), Seoul:

From my perspective, assuming that ROK maintains its current attempt to reverse the LMB policy, opportunities are going to increase. I don’t believe there will be any continuation of refusal to provide humanitarian aid. Both main parties in ROK are framing renewed engagement, as is the USA. EU will follow suit.

Hazel Smith, Professor of Resilience and Security, Cranfield University, UK:

The DPRK government is far from unique in being culpable of poor governance and failing to meet the food needs of its people. Arguing that the DPRK humanitarian and food crises are unique is wrong in advocacy terms because it reinforces the politicisation of aid to the DPRK in its emphasis on the ‘exceptionally awful’ case of the DPRK.

The reasons for food shortages and economic failure in the DPRK are prosaic. Like very large numbers of governments, the DPRK government lacks oil (to generate revenue), suffered the withdrawal of external subsidies, has an obsolescent economic infrastructure in every respect, and is governed by a non-democratic, economically illiterate and inept government.

CanKor editors are guests on Context with Lorna Dueck

Don’t miss CanKor editor-in-chief Erich Weingartner and CanKor Human Factor blog editor Jack Kim on Context with Lorna Dueck. The two participated as guests on this Christian television talk show that airs on a number of stations across Canada.

In an email after the show was taped, Producer Sannah Choi wrote the following:

“Thank you so very much for your outstanding contribution to the show last evening. Your expertise and perspective were so valuable and appreciated by many in the audience with whom I spoke last night. It left them thinking and more aware of the situation in North Korea.”

The show is expected to air on Sunday, 5 February on Global TV at 9:30 am EST and on Vision TV at 12:30 pm EST. Additional details on times and stations are posted here.

Related articles

• Radio interview with Charles Burton and Erich Weingartner (CanKor.ca)
• Sifting through the golf sands for a hint of North Korea’s future (CanKor.ca)
• Public Event in Toronto: North Korea – New Leadership, New Hope? (CanKor.ca)

Public Event in Toronto: North Korea — New Leadership, New Hope?

HanVoice is very excited to announce that it will be hosting a Panel Discussion focusing on the legacy of Kim Jong-Il and the future of North Korea post-Kim Jong Il.

The event will provide unique perspectives from local MP Barry Devolin; HanVoice’s Executive Director, Randall Baran-Chong; CanKor columnist, Jack Kim; a member of the North Korean refugee community; and a representative from Canada’s academic community. The discussion aims to act as a platform from which the creation of new dialogue, initiatives and ideas can be shared and exchanged by viewpoints from key stakeholders, including policymakers, members of the press, academics, members of the human rights community, and the public.

CanKor Interviews: Jack Kim

In August 2010, CanKor caught up with Han Voice Executive Director Jack Kim during the 10th Annual International Conference on North Korean Human Rights. Below are excerpts of our conversation.

CanKor: Why is the 10th Annual International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees important?

CanKor: The topic of Human Rights in North Korea seems to divide people along ideological and sectoral lines. Is this inevitable?

CanKor: What is next for North Korean Human Rights advocacy?

CanKor: What are the next steps for Han Voice?

CanKor: What can specifically Canadian sponsorship offer?

CanKor: Do you Read CanKor?