The Institue for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University (Director Lee Kwan-Sei) held the 13th Samcheong Forum in the Jeongsan Hall of the Unification Building at 19:00 on December 10. The forum featured a presentation and discussion by Jenny Town, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center, and Director of 38 North, on the topic “Changing International Security Landscape around North Korea.”

Jenny Town, Director of 38 North, highlighted during the forum that “North Korea is actively engaging in a network aimed at the formation of a multipolar system and the containment of Western influence,” adding, “Through cooperation with Russia, North Korea is securing weapons and military technology support, while continuing the efforts to brand itself as a ‘normal state.’”

She explained, “due to the U.S. conflicts with China and Russia, and the strengthening of China-Russia cooperation, international politics is heading towards bloc formations and an arms race. These global shifts have weakened the voices of the international community calling for North Korea’s denuclearization, and have created new opportunities for North Korea’s ‘nuclear status’ to be strategically beneficial in its standoff with the U.S. and the Western-led regional security bloc.” She also mentioned, “In order to change Kim Jong Un’s worldview, international circumstances must change.”

She further stated, “Kim Jong Un has abandoned the existing unification discourse and is using nuclear and military power to sustain North Korea’s regime as a permanent state. At the same time, this approach is being institutionalized, and it has been noted that he is attempting to justify the extreme actions by exaggerating the concept of the enemy.”

Following the presentation, Q&A session was held with graduate students and experts in attendance, discussing the changes in the current international situation and the various aspects of the changes and responses in the wake of a second Trump administration.