Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, Will Deliver Keynote Address
General Colin L. Powell, USA (ret.), former U.S. Secretary of State and distinguished CCNY alumnus, will convene a half-day conference on dynamic shifts affecting relations between North and South Korea and the implications of those relations for policymakers. The conference will take place Friday, April 23, at the Harmonie Club in Manhattan. General Powell will address the conference’s luncheon session. Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, will present the keynote address at 9:15 a.m. Ambassador Bosworth, along with other officials, recently completed a review of North Korea policy for the Obama administration.
The conference, “Korean Reunification, Regional Peace and the 2010 Decade: The Limits and Prospects of Closer Engagement,” is being sponsored by the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at The City College of New York. General Powell is founder and chair of the Colin Powell Center, a nonpartisan educational, research and training center at CCNY. The event will bring together leading policymakers, analysts, scholars and civil society leaders concerned with security and democracy on the Korean Peninsula, and will include two panel discussions.
The first panel will consider current social conditions and prospects for integration in light of recent developments. Speakers include: Lee Cheoleon, Senior Fellow, Good Friends USA (North Korea-focused humanitarian and human-rights organization); Professor Lee Soo-Jung, University of North Korean Studies; and Professor Park Myung-lim, Chair, East Asian Studies Program, Yonsei University.
The second panel will focus on political considerations and policy options set against the backdrop described in Session I. Speakers will consider efforts to foster closer North-South relations as a way of easing security concerns on the Peninsula and promoting regional stability. Panelists include Kim Hong-kyun, Director General of the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea; B. Lynn Pascoe, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Special Envoy to North Korea; Mitchell Reiss, Senior Associate, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and President of Washington College; and Suh Jae-Jung, Director, Korean Studies Program, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
The Colin Powell Center is devoted to developing the policy and leadership skills of the remarkable and diverse student population of The City College of New York. Each year, the Center gathers a group of publicly engaged leaders and analysts from government, civil society and the academy to discuss an issue of pressing importance. In this context, Center conferences produce a written record of policy analysis and discussion and provide invited students with special insight into the policymaking process, anchored in a specific theme.
The April 23 conference will focus on pivotal questions regarding the viability of closer ties. It will also anticipate the 2011 launch of the Center’s newly created Korean Issues and Insights programming, designed to encourage Center-affiliated students to think seriously about Korean policy experiences and perspectives while simultaneously developing leadership skills and policy expertise. This new program is made possible by a generous grant from the Korea Foundation. The conference opens at 8:30 a.m. and runs until after lunch. The keynote and panel discussions will be held on the third floor of the Harmonie Club, 4 E. 60th Street in Manhattan. Additional conference information can be found at: /powell.
About the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies
The Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at the City College of New York (CCNY) is a nonpartisan educational, training and research center named for one of CCNY’s most distinguished graduates. Established 1997, the Center’s mission is to prepare new generations of publicly engaged leaders from populations previously underrepresented in public service and policy circles. The Center also seeks to build a strong culture of civic engagement at City College and to mobilize campus resources to meet pressing community needs and serve the public good.