COURIER ONLINE Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution The 38th parallel, the line dividing North and South Korea, remains the most heavily militarized border in the world.... No formal peace agreement ending the Korean War has ever been reached.... Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution The US and North Korea Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution
The 38th parallel, the line dividing North and South Korea, remains the most heavily militarized border in the world.... No formal peace agreement ending the Korean War has ever been reached.... Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution
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 US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement
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Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution The 38th parallel, the line dividing North and South Korea, remains the most heavily militarized border in the world.... No formal peace agreement ending the Korean War has ever been reached.... Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution

The 38th parallel, the line dividing North and South Korea, remains the most heavily militarized border in the world. There are 1.1 million North Korean soldiers on one side; 660,000 South Korean and 37,000 American troops are on the other. No formal peace agreement ending the Korean War has ever been reached.

The prolonged state of military tensions is only one factor complicating US relations with North Korea. Economic collapse has created intense food shortages in the North. Positive overtures from the North indicating a desire for better relations are alternated with provocative military actions.

Policy experts, scholars, and relief providers gathered last October to discuss ways to diffuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula and engage the US and North Korea in a more positive dialogue. The group, part of the Stanley Foundation's Emerging From Conflict program, agreed that engaging North Korea is difficult because North Korea is extremely secretive and closed, resulting in little reliable information for the outside world.

US Policy
Group members agreed that Clinton Administration policy on North Korea is heading for a "train wreck," particularly in regard to Congress. [Note: Since this conference, President Clinton has announced that former Secretary of Defense William Perry will lead a complete review of US policy on North Korea.]

All conference participants agreed on the need for further engagement with North Korea. Among the recommendations put forward by one or more members:

  • Going over the heads of the current negotiating team from North Korea and dealing directly with military leaders
  • Getting the US military and intelligence community to support a North Korean education and training program at the Department of Defense
  • Changing US policy blocking North Korean access to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
  • Making reunification of Korea a US foreign policy priority
The group also examined ways to improve nongovernmental organization (NGO) engagement with North Korea. One or more of the participants suggested:
  • Improving the accountability of NGOs delivering aid to North Korea
  • Increasing interconnectedness between North Korea and the outside world at all levels, including NGOs and the business community
  • Engaging Korean War veterans, as was done in the US-Vietnam normalization process
Finally, participants gave a number of suggestions for creating more interest and dialogue in the US on North Korean issues. These included:
  • Focusing the attention of high-level US government officials
  • Building public support
  • Developing strong NGO and citizen advocacy groups necessary for building a domestic issue constituency
  • Emphasizing that avoidance of war is the key issue by highlighting the potential human and economic costs of war on the peninsula
—Keith Porter
APR 1999
Courier, The Stanley Foundation, Regions & Countries, US Foreign Policy, Keith Porter, Emerging From Conflict: Improving US Relations With Current and Recent Adversaries, US Relations With North Korea: Prospects for Engagement, 39th Strategy for Peace Conference, US-North Korea relations, North Korea, Korean Peninsula, bilateral multilateral relationships, conflict resolution
 
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