After years of growing tension in the Korean Peninsula, this trend has reversed in 2018 as the concerned governments have shown a stronger determination to explore a diplomatic solution to their security concerns. These diplomatic efforts have already led to several high-level meetings among the involved parties whose more substantial outcomes are the Declaration of Panmunjom and the joint statement signed by the leaders of the DPRK and the US after the Singapore Summit. In this context, this seminar gathered experts from the Six Party Talks countries and top European think tanks to discuss ideas on how the European Union and its member states could contribute to that process.

5 October 2018. The Max Kohnstamm room (3rd floor). Rue du Trône 14-16, Brussels.

Final programme

9:45 Opening session

  • Charles Powell, Director, Elcano Royal Institute

10:00 – 11:00  Session 1. Implications of a diplomatic solution for a conflictive Korean Peninsula

  • Chair: Charles Powell, Director, Elcano Royal Institute
  • Ramón Pacheco Pardo, KF-VUB Korea Chair, Free University of Brussels

11:00 – 13:00  Session 2. The role of Europe in the eyes of the Six-party Talks countries

  • Chair: Luis Simón, Director, Elcano Royal Institute, Brussels Office
  • Lee Dongmin, Associate Professor, Dankook University
  • Liu Qing, Director, Department for Asia-Pacific Security and Cooperation, CIIS 
  • Kim Songyong, President, Korea-Europe Association
  • Hideshi Tokuchi, Senior Fellow, GRIPS
  • Alexander Zhebin, Director of the Center for Korean Studies, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, RAS

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 16:00 Session 3. Europe´s prospective contribution viewed from Europe

  • Chair: Mario Esteban, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute
  • Axel Berkofsky, Co-Head of Asia Center, ISPI
  • Eric Ballbach, Researcher, SWP
  • Françoise Nicolas, Director, Center for Asian Studies, IFRI
  • John Nilsson-Wright, Senior Lecturer, Cambridge University and Senior    Research Fellow, Chatham House.
  • Niklas Swanström, Director, Institute for Security and Development Policy
  • Bartosz Wisniewski, Head of Research Office, PISM

16:00 – 16:15  Coffee break

16:15 – 17:45 Session 4. Conclusions (open discussion)

  • Chair: Mario Esteban, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute

17:45 – 18:00 Closing remarks

  • Charles Powell, Director, Elcano Royal Institute