North Korea in 2020 – Fire and Fury or a Path Towards Peace?

On Monday, January 6, the Center for the National Interest co-sponsored a conference entitled “North Korea in 2020 – Fire and Fury or a Path Towards Peace?” together with the Korea Foundation. The conference, which was broadcast live on C-SPAN2, featured a range of opinions on North Korea as well as a keynote speech from Dr. Moon Chung-In, Special Adviser to President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea.

The first panel focused on the opportunities and challenges surrounding the Korean peace process. Dr. Moon Chung-In gave insightful remarks on the current state of peace negotiations, and was joined by fellow panelists Jessica Lee (a Senior Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute) and Doug Bandow (a Senior Fellow with the Cato Institute) in analyzing the prospects for successful talks in 2020. The panel was moderated by Harry Kazianis, Senior Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest and Executive Editor of The National Interest.

The second panel, which was moderated by The National Interest editor Jacob Heilbrunn, discussed the effectiveness of the sanctions regime levied against North Korea. Panelists Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson (Senior Director, China and the Pacific at the Center for the National Interest and former Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific), Daniel Davis (a Senior Fellow with Defense Priorities) and Henri Féron (a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy) discussed whether sanctions are capable of bringing about a denuclearized North Korea or whether the pursuit of such a goal through sanctions is a waste of time.

The third and final panel was moderated by The Atlantic’s national security reporter Uri Friedman and centered on the debate surrounding President Trump’s foreign policy towards North Korea. Panelists William Ruger (Vice President of the Charles Koch Institute), Scott Snyder (a Research Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations), and Douglas Macgregor (author of Margin of Victory: Five Battles That Changed the Face of Modern War) shared their insights as to whether President Trump’s North Korea policy has effectively benefited America’s National Interest.

Video of the Korean peace process panel can be viewed here.

For video of the panel on the effectiveness of sanctions, click here.

The link to the panel discussion of President Trump’s North Korea policy can be found here.