In the decade and a half since its Soviet patron collapsed, Pyongyang's leaders have striven to make the international community regard North Korean collapse as a frightening—even unthinkable—risk to the region and to the world. Against all odds, Kim Jong Il's starving police state has been remarkably successful in this campaign. Today, numerous arguments against regime change in North Korea are routinely offered in Western foreign policy circles. These arguments include the incalculable economic costs of reconstructing northern Korea, the unpredictable mass exodus of refugees that might be triggered, the grave military and proliferation uncertainties entailed in any political transition from North Korea's current nuclear-armed dictatorship, and the geostrategic tensions that could be provoked between Great Powers in an area that historically has been prone to Great Power conflicts.
But is the world really better off with “the devil we know”? Should consideration of regime change or regime collapse in North Korea really be “off limits” for the public, human rights activists, and policymakers? In conjunction with North Korea Freedom Week, AEI will convene a discussion of these thorny and important issues. Please join a panel of leading specialists and practitioners of human rights, development policy, international security, and nonproliferation as they grapple with some all-too-often neglected questions.
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