Park calls for NK research sharing
Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, front row center, watches a video on North Korea with international scholars at the World Conference on North Korean Studies held at Yonsei University in Seoul, Tuesday. About 40 foreign scholars from 16 countries and 110 domestic experts on North Korea attended the conference. / Yonhap
By Kang Hyun-kyung
President Park Geun-hye called on international scholars Tuesday to share research on North Korea that will help end the decades-long division of the two Koreas.
In a video message to the World Conference on North Korean Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, Park said, “I hope that today’s conference can lay the groundwork for a global network.”
She cited the need to end the “decades-long pain” caused by the division of the two Koreas since the end of the Korean War.
Park noted that South Korea will stand firm against any provocative acts from North Korea but will keep channels for dialogue open as well as giving assistance to the North Korean people.
Her message was delivered to 150 professors and scholars, including 40 from 16 countries, who attended the conference. This is the first global gathering of professionals studying North Korea.
The participants vary in terms of their expertise and include experts, political economy majors and those studying the status of women in the North.
In a speech to the conference, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae stressed peaceful unification. “If the unification of the two Koreas comes with clashes and conflict, this won’t be welcomed by the international community,” he said.
The unification minister also called for constructive unification. “This means that a unified Korea needs to play a role in international peace and integration, instead of simply going back to where they were before they were divided.”
The Korea Association of North Korean Studies said they decided to organize the conference to assess where the North is today in an objective manner and predict where the nation is heading.
It said there has been growing interest in North Korea in recent years after the country made headlines for its nuclear programs, abuses of human rights and power succession after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of heart failure in 2011.
The organization hosted the global gathering of North Korea experts to examine all issue areas related to the state, it said.
The two-day conference opened Tuesday.