Mar 15, 2010

News

Dialogue on North Korea Highlights Core Tasks Facing Donors

In February, NED partnered with the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES) of Seoul’s Kyungnam University to host the International Donor Conference on North Korea: Development, Human Rights and Democracy.

The Conference brought together representatives from government agencies, international organizations and NGOs. As NED President Carl Gershman observed, this was “perhaps the first dialogue between the two communities of organizations working on development issues in North Korea and those promoting human rights and democracy.”

Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Robert King, U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, and NED President Carl Gershman gave opening addresses to the Conference, held at the Seoul Plaza Hotel, on February 4th. Mr. Gershman noted,

 “The fact that we are gathered today… is symptomatic of a gradually evolving international consensus that rescuing North Korea is in the common interest of the entire world.  There is an obvious security interest in helping North Korea become a normal country, or part of a normal country, and there is also a profound moral interest, considering the terrible suffering that has been inflicted on the people of North Korea.  So let us proceed with our work and find new ways to help the people of North Korea, and the cause of peace in this region and beyond.”

Mr. Gershman highlighted three “core tasks” facing the donor community. The first is to “expand and diversify” existing programs in the areas of human rights advocacy and documentation, broadcasting and communications, and capacity building for young defectors and others from North Korea.

Second, governments and NGOs involved in humanitarian and development assistance should to try to “foster the learning of problem-solving skills” in their programs and incorporate a “rights-based approach to development projects”. This could nurture the idea among North Koreans that local officials should be accountable and responsive to the community and its needs.

Finally, the North Korean defector community in South Korea needs to be viewed as “a critical asset and not as an economic and social burden.” They offer a way to reach back into North Korea and act as a “bridge” that can interpret their “voiceless society” for South Koreans as well as for the rest of the world. They also represent an invaluable resource to facilitate eventual reunification.

Panels and presentations following the opening ceremony focused on specific issues ranging from “Changes in North Korea since the 1990s” to “Energy Assistance for North Korea. NED grantees Radio Free North Korea and Radio Free Chosun were both involved in a presentation on “The Role of Media in Human Rights and Democracy.” The Conference continued the next day with closed-door sessions.

This is the second event NED has co-sponsored on North Korea with IFES; the first was a 1998 workshop on liberalization and market reform in North Korea. The grant that NED made to Kyungnam University for that workshop was NED’s first program on North Korea. Today, NED supports a wide range of grantees working on North Korea issues.

Learn More

  • A recent New York Times article, "Nimble Agencies Sneak News Out of North Korea", discusses three NED-supported radio stations based in South Korea, broadcasting to North Korea…
  • Another New York Times article features NED grantee Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights and the work they do with defectors living in South Korea.
  • The Korean Embassy in Washington reports on a recent speech given by NED President Carl Gershman :: VISIT