Living History with Ambassador Chun Yung-woo

Multilateral Engagement to Resolve the North Korean Nuclear Issue

This Living History interview features Ambassador Chun Yung-woo. Ambassador Chun was National Security Advisor to ROK President Lee Myung-bak from 2010 to 2013 and was Second Vice Minister at the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2009 to 2010. Prior to that he served as ROK ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2009 and head of the ROK delegation to the Six Party Talks from 2006 to 2008. In this interview, Chun reflects particularly upon his experience as Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs and head of the South Korean delegation to the Six Party Talks, a multilateral negotiation to denuclearize North Korea that resulted in two sets of agreements in 2005 and 2007.

Ambassador Chun offers heretofore unpublished personal reflections on the high and low points of the multi-year effort to achieve verifiable dismantlement of the North’s nuclear programs, the coordination of policy with the United States, and the challenges of dealing with China. He also recounts his role as the National Security Advisor to the ROK President and the challenges of trilateral coordination between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan. For more on this unique and personal history please listen below. For more on this unique and personal history please listen below.

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