4th Tongil Hankuk Forum (United Korea Forum)
From left to right: Prof. Dr. Yu-Hwan Ko, Jeong-Bong Kim, Prof. Dr. Se-Hyun Chung, Prof. Dr. Hee-Ok Lee, Prof. Dr. In-Hwi Park
The welcome address was given by Young-Soo Kim, project manager of Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Korea.
In his opening speech to the conference, the former minister of Korean unification and president of the forum Prof. Dr. Se-Hyun Chung referred to the North Korean nuclear issue. He raised the question whether the Six-Party talks are still successful.
Prof. Dr. Yu-Hwan Ko (Dongkuk University) mentioned the latest nuclear tests of North Korea and recommended newly dialogues between North Korea and South Korea.
Jeong-Bong Kim (Hanjung University) was convinced that a military defense system is needed in South Korea since North Korea’s nuclear weapons are already highly developed. Moreover, Israel’s air defense system “Iron Dome” works efficiently.
Prof. Dr. In-Hwi Park (Ewha Womans University) stated that the North Korean nuclear issue is of strategic interest to both China and United States. South Korea ought to ensure a balance between their interests.
Although China is critical of the North Korean nuclear issue, the existence of North Korea and the current state of peace is on behalf of China, Prof. Dr. Hee-Ok Lee (Sungkyunkwan University) explained. Therefore, Beijing tolerates North Korea’s nuclear programme.