With the passing of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, we have seen telecast images from Pyongyang of mass grief; South Korea offering sympathy to the people of North Korea and permitting the Hyundai and Kim Dae Jung families permission to attend observances; the United States noting the passing and reiterating its desire for stability on the Peninsula and its support for the ROK-U.S. alliance; and China’s Wen Jiabao, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping offering condolences at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing. Reportage suggests a consolidation under third son Kim Jung Un, proclaimed the Great Successor by North Korea’s state media, and Reuters is reporting a consolidation along collective leadership lines, to include Kim Jong Un, his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, and the North Korean military under Marshall Ri Yong Ho. Reuters is also reporting that Monday’s short range missile test was designed to signal to the West that it should maintain distance.

To comment on the situation, The Korea Society welcomed Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, chairman of The Korea Society, Columbia University’s professor Charles Armstrong, the Mansfield Foundation’s Gordon Flake, and the Harvard Belfer Center’s Dr. John Park for a discussion by phone and in-person. The session was moderated by Senior Vice President, Dr. Stephen Noerper. The Korea Society thanks the Tongyang Group, sponsors of the podcast series, Samsung, sponsor of the conference facility, Hyundai, lead sponsor of The Korea Society’s 55th Anniversary Gala in Seoul, and the Korea Foundation, supporter of policy programs at The Korea Society.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 
10:30AM