Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS) successfully hosted the Trilateral Dialogue on Options for Dealing with North Korea on April 15, 2016 at the KFAS Conference Hall. Building on the progress made in the three previous rounds of the Trilateral Conference, the Trilateral Dialogue focused specifically on how to manage North Korea’s nuclear ambitions following the recent provocation and the toughest UN Security Council sanctions against the communist state to date. In the wake of the alleged hydrogen bomb test in January and a long-range missile test in February, the timely Track II meeting provided a rich platform for experts from the three countries with the highest stake to share their views.

The first session, “Addressing North Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Threats,” was moderated by former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Young-kwan YOON. During this session, Robert EINHORN (Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution), SUN Xuefeng (Chair, Department of International Relations, Tsinghua University), and Sung-han KIM (Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University) addressed issues such as the goals and current state of North Korea’s nuclear missile program and whether the UN Security Council sanctions have been effective so far.

The second session, “The United States, China, and the Korean Peninsula,” was moderated by President In-kook PARK. Douglas H. PAAL (Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), YAN Xuetong, (Dean, Institute of Modern International Relations, Tsinghua University), and Jae-Ho CHUNG (Professor, Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University) from the US, China and Korea, respectively, participated to share their insights on the Korean peninsula in light of the new Sino-American relationship.