Forum
44th Tongil Hankuk Forum
On November 13, 2024, the 44th Tongil Hankuk Forum of the Institute of Peace Affairs took place, jointly with the Institute for Peace Studies and the Department of International Relations of Changwon University in cooperation with Hanns-Seidel-Foundation. Since 8 years, the Tongil Hankuk Forum provides a space for current debate on the development of North Korea and inter-Korean relations. This time, the issue of sanctions was debated, in particular in the maritime realm. The forum was special since it was held in Changwon in South Gyeongsan province and featured experts from the Southern region. In his opening remarks, Prof. Bernhard Seliger of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea pointed out that sanctions were certainly understandable as a way to curb the nuclear and missile programs of North Korea, but at the same time seemed largely ineffective and more directed towards virtue signaling within countries imposing sanctions like the UN, the US and South Korea.
The main speaker was Dr. Chae Soo-Ran, senior researcher at the Korea Maritime Institute in Busan. She looked back into several rounds of increasingly severe sanctions imposed on North Korea since the first nuclear test in 2006, peaking with stringent (but not always effective) sanctions in 2016 forbidding most of international trade and exchange for North Korea. Moderated by Prof. Hong Seok-Hoon of the Department of International Relations of Changwon National University, Prof. Kim Dong-Soo of the Department of International and Regional Studies of Pukyong University and Dr. Lee Jin-Woo of the Department of International Relations of Changwon National University discussed the perspectives for more effective use of sanctions, followed by a broader discussion with students and staff of Changwon National University. Among, a discussion on the recent election results in the US and their effects on the sanctions regime and overall relations to North Korea ensued.