Webinar
Dialogue is a Goal in Itself

Markus Ferber, Chairman of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and Member of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula (DKOR), opened the conference, explaining that the last year was difficult for North Korea. Sanctions, natural disasters, and the Covid-19 pandemic have worsened the situation in the country and the exchange between North Korea and other states decreased. Ferber emphasized the importance of dialogue between the EU and North Korea. This would not mean that the European Union must agree with North Korean actions. The values of democracy and human rights are main pillars of the EU and should also be represented in the exchange with North Korea.

After the opening speech, Dr Tereza Novotna (Korea-Europe Center Fellow at the Free University Berlin and Senior Research Fellow at the EUROPEUM Prague) gave an introduction in the EU-North Korean relationship. She said, these days were an especially important moment to talk to North Korea because the Biden administration announced to overthink their strategy concerning North Korea. The European Union should also rethink and discuss their actions and strategies. In the past the EU has been mainly critical towards North Korea and not engaging. A new EU proposal which includes all the different perspectives of the member states could be the foundation of a new European strategy.

Lukas Mandl, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula (DKOR), held a keynote in which he emphasized the importance of South Korea as a strong partner for the EU. Concerning North Korea, the EU should reconsider their strategy, he said. Currently the European Parliament is the only EU-institution which is in contact with North Korean representatives. Mandl named the establishment of a future oriented approach, denuclearization, and assurance of human rights as one of the future goals for the EU North Korean relations. In his opinion the EU should keep sanctions but should also strengthen the dialogue between the two sides. The European Parliament could play an important role by enhancing parliamentary diplomacy.

Dr Bernhard Seliger, Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea, gave insights in the daily work at the Korean office. The situation nowadays in North Korea is difficult because the country was hit by multiple crises in the last year. The country is highly isolated and there are serious concerns about a humanitarian disaster. Due to Covid-19 most of foreign diplomats have left the country and nearly no international organisations are currently working in North Korea. Because of that, there is a lack of information about the situation in the country. Through the pandemic there is a new possibility of getting back on to the negotiation table. Dr Seliger ended his speech underlining that dialogue is a goal in itself.

Following to the keynotes and presentations Anne Schley, Programme Manager at the Hanns Seidel Foundation Office in Brussels, moderated a discussion between the experts and participants had the chance to ask questions. In this part of the webinar Lukas Mandl underlined that the EU has to care about the relationship with North Korea, because of the nuclear power of North Korea which is a security risk and because of the good partnership between South Korea and the European Union. He also gave some insights in relations between the European Parliament and North Korean representatives. Tereza Novotna explained the differences in the relations between the different European member states with North Korea. Some of them have not any diplomatic relations, like France and Estonia, others are running embassies in the country, like Germany, Sweden, and Bulgaria. Dr Seliger answered a question concerning European projects in North Korea and described the European humanitarian aid projects in the past. He also mentioned challenges for future projects and diplomacy in general and stated that the Covid-19 pandemic could open up new chances for dialogue between North Korea and the European Union.