Seoul 04/03

WMD Challenges on the Korean Peninsula and New Approaches: A U.S.-ROK-Japanese Dialogue

A Trilateral U.S.-Japan-ROK Workshop
part of the Building Six-Party Capacity project

April 11, 2003
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Government officials and foreign policy specialists from the United States, South Korea and Japan gathered for a one-day conference in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (ROK), on April 11, 2003, to discuss options for dealing with North Korea’s nuclear weapons and overall WMD program. The meeting coincided with the North’s effective withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The conference, entitled "WMD Challenges on the Korean Peninsula and New Approaches: A U.S.-ROK-Japanese Dialogue," was co-organized on the U.S. side by the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (based in Cambridge, Mass., and Washington, D.C.) and on the South Korean side by the Center for International Studies, Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University, located in Seoul. The organizers divided the dialogue into four sessions to identify recent regional strategic shifts (especially in light of the war in Iraq), to assess the nature and scope of the security threat, to explore frameworks for easing WMD risks, and to attempt to forge common approaches and coordinated policies to ameliorate the problem.

Frank and spirited discussion revealed the issue’s complexity and the diverse (and sometimes diverging) policy priorities of each country, reflecting differences in perceived threats and in assessments of the risks associated with various approaches. Both between and within country delegations there were disagreements, but everyone recognized that policy coordination is vital for enlisting the support of other neighboring nations and effectively responding to North Korea. The participants made progress identifying areas that each country’s political leadership can focus on in the coming weeks to bridge differences and act in greater concert. After all, there will be no single, concrete answer to the North Korean nuclear problem, and it will require political compromises to forge a common approach among the allies. This conference in Seoul enhanced mutual understanding at a critical time, and will hopefully make a contribution to current negotiation efforts and to plans for the key Washington summit meeting later in May between the presidents of South Korea and the United States.