Promoting Dialogue and Understanding Between Korea and the United States
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Event Date
February 24th 12:00pm - 12:00am ET
On February 24, KEI, in partnership with the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center of the University of Montana, and the World Affairs Council of Montana, will host a panel program titled: "Fallout Northeast Asia: Consequences of the Global Economic Crisis and Nuclear Stalemate on the Korean Peninsula." The program will take place from 3 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the University Center Theater. It is free and open to the public. Panelists will include Tom Byrne, Senior Vice President of Moody’s Investor Service, Gordon Flake, Executive Director of the Maureen & Mike Mansfield Foundation, and Nicole Finnemann, Director of Research & Academic Affairs at KEI.
According to Terry Weidner, director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at UM, this program is particularly timely, because of persistent rumors that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has suffered a serious stroke and U.S. policy towards the country is likely to change under the Obama administration. Weidner said it wasn’t a coincidence that Hillary Clinton’s first overseas trip as Secretary of State included a visit to South Korea.
“While the Obama administration has held out the promise of normalizing relations with North Korea, the North Koreans have thus far remained bellicose,” Weidner said. “Is our hand open while their fist is still clenched, or could there be a fresh start between the U.S. and North Korea?”
The program’s participants will assess the latest developments in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program as well as the enormous impact the global economic crisis is having on South Korea.