The Perils of North Korean Collapsism
ISDP FORUM with Dr. Jong Kun Choi
Associate Professor of Political Science & International Studies at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Thursday, May 7, 2015, 15.00-16.30
The stability of the North Korean regime is one of the vital factors shaping the regional politics of Northeast Asia. Recently, many observers have pointed to the non-reformability and unsustainability of the regime and conclude its collapse is inevitable. Such predictions are nothing new given that this mantra has been repeated for two and a half decades. What is new this time, however, is that pundits make a case that we should actually prepare for a South Korea led unification in the Korean Peninsula after the collapse of North Korea.
In this ISDP forum, Dr. Choi, Associate Professor of Political Science & International Studies at Yonsei University, problematizes the return of the North Korean collapsism, arguing that it will only aggravate Pyongyang’s threat and justify its motives for continuing its nuclear program. From the vantage point of denuclearization, collapsism distorts the policy discussion, which is in sore need of a realistic, fact based approach with the goal of seeking a peaceful resolution to the current nuclear stalemate.
In this ISDP forum, Dr. Choi, Associate Professor of Political Science & International Studies at Yonsei University, problematizes the return of the North Korean collapsism, arguing that it will only aggravate Pyongyang’s threat and justify its motives for continuing its nuclear program. From the vantage point of denuclearization, collapsism distorts the policy discussion, which is in sore need of a realistic, fact based approach with the goal of seeking a peaceful resolution to the current nuclear stalemate.
Dr. Jong Kun Choi is Associate Professor of Political Science & International Studies at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea. He is currently serving as member of the advisory board for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Six Party Talks), the Ministry of Unification (the Inter-Korean Exchanges) and the Air Force of the Republic of Korea. He is currently spending a sabbatical year at the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in Copenhagen, Denmark.
RSVP to Mr. Scott Sutherland at ssutherland@isdp.eu