Please join us for a day-long conference:

 

North Korea's Shifting Political Landscape: Will Succession Provide Opportunities for Expanded Human Rights and Democracy in the Hermit Kingdom?

 

Thursday, October 21, 2010

9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

 

National Endowment for Democracy

1025 F Street NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC

 

RSVP by October 18 to rsvp@ned.org

 

On September 27, North Korea's government news agency announced the promotion of Kim Jong-il's third son, Kim Jong-un, to the rank offour-star military general, the clearest indication yet of North Korea's succession plans. The simultaneouselevation of Kim Jong-il's sister, Kim Kyoung-hui, to the same rank shows Kim's determination to keep power in the family, but the depth of support for the young, inexperienced Kim Jong-un, as well as the impact the succession will have on North Korea's abysmal human rights environment, is still unclear. How will political, social and economic life in the DPRK evolve? And will there be new opportunities to promote human rights and democracy? 

 

To better understand these challenges, NED, will join with the Sejong Institute and the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights (NK Net) to convene a day-long discussion  featuring South Korean and western experts, as well as North Korean defectors and activists. The conference will include sessions on the DPRK's political environment and succession, the free flow of information into and out of North Korea, marketization and social change, and programmatic opportunities to promote democracy and human rights in one of the world's most closed countries. We hope you will join us for this timely discussion.

 

About the Sponsors:

 

The Network for Democracy and Human Rights in North Korea (NKnet) was founded in Seoul in 1999 by a group of citizens who wish to alleviate the suffering of the North Korean people and to promote human rights and democracy in North Korea.  The founders of NKnet are all veterans of the pro-democracy campaign against military dictatorship in South Korea.  NKnet is devoted to raising public awareness of the need to support democracy and human rights in North Korea. NKnet has made an important contribution to the North Korean human rights movement in South Korea, and has been an early mover and incubator of new ideas and initiatives, which have been adopted by many civil society organizations and NGOs working on North Korean human rights issues.

 

Established in 1983, the Sejong Institute is a private think tank in South Korea that is dedicated to conducting research and analysis on the past, present and future mid- and long-term national policies in the areas of security, national unification, and foreign affairs. As an affiliated organization of the Sejong Foundation, it has been active in developing policy alternatives for the promotion of security, peace, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, particularly in the area of political and economic reform in North Korea.

 

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was created in 1983 as a private, nonprofit, grant-making foundation with a mission to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts.  NED makes more than twelve hundred grants each year to support prodemocracy groups in nearly 90 countries. The Endowment supports projects that promote political and economic freedom and participation, human rights, a strong civil society, independent media and the rule of law.

                         Human Rights in North Korea             

 

                              Chair and Discussant: Roberta Cohen, Non-resident fellow,

                             Brookings Institution

 

                              Presenters:

1.       Ki Hong Han, NKnet, "The Current State and Future Prospects of North Korean Democratization and Human Rights Movement"

2.       Ho Yeol Yu, Korea University, "The Role of South Korea in Improving North Korea's Human Rights and Democracy"

3.       Chuck Downs, Committee for NK Human Rights "Advancing Human Rights in the Closing Years of the Kim Jong-il's Regime"

4.       John Knaus, NED, "Promoting Human Rights and Democracy in North Korea:  The NED as a Case Study"