Events
Seminar "The Six-Party Talks: Precursor for a peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia?" 27 October 2008
With the Six-Party Talks (SPT) statements of September 2005 and February 2007, six countries committed to joint efforts for lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia. China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States vowed to create a permanent peace regime and to further regional economic and energy cooperation. Clearly, these objectives transcend the most immediate and publicly discussed focus of negotiations in the Six-Party Talks: the North Korean nuclear programme.
As discussion on the future of a multilateral, institutionalized framework springing from the Six-Party Talks takes off, this sparks further debate about the relationship between the security and economic fields, and the architecture of regional cooperation in East Asia at large.
As recognized in the Six-Party Talks, an important road towards stability on the Korean Peninsula is the economic revival of North Korea and its integration into the regional and global economy and its institutions. Whether this can be achieved depends not only on the regime in Pyongyang but also on action taken in the other five capitals. This economic factor without doubt is crucial to a comprehensive solution to the Peninsula question. It remains to be debated, however, to what extent this is part of the agenda for a lasting peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia.
Another important question is what the consequences are of a security framework that builds on the Six-Party Talks. How would such a mechanism likely affect the existing US-centred system of formal and informal security ties that includes Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan? Solidification of bilateral ties with countries of East Asia into a multilateral framework, or a renewed embrace by Washington of the region, will be unacceptable for China. Another concern is the response of ASEAN, which has until now been regarded as the driver of institutionalised regional cooperation, including in the security field.
These themes set the scene for a seminar on the Six-Party Talks and the future of a peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia. The aim of the seminar is to explore what role the Six-Party Talks play and can play in Northeast Asian security beyond the specific issue of the North Korean nuclear crisis.
The seminar is held on the occasion of the upcoming Clingendael publication: 'Politics and Diplomacy in the North Korean Nuclear Crisis: Perspectives from Six Powers', edited by Koen de Ceuster and Jan Melissen, with contributions by Dick Leurdijk, Sico van der Meer, Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Frans-Paul van der Putten and Marc Vogelaar. (available for download.)
Programme Outline
| 14:00-14:15 |
Welcome & introduction
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| 14:15-15:30 |
Panel: The Six-Party Talks: Precursor for a Peace and Security Mechanism in Northeast Asia?presentations followed by questions
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| 15:30–15:50 |
Break |
| 15:50-17:00 |
|
Plenary Discussion |
|
| 17:00-18:00 |
ReceptionSponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea |