A top North Korean nuclear negotiator will travel to the United States this week for talks involving the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Ri Yong Ho, North Korea’s negotiator to the six-party talks on nuclear disarmament, will attend the forum, which will be held in New York City from March 7-9. The forum is considered track two negotiations, which means the U.S. government does not have formal involvement, said Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department in a press briefing Thursday.

Representatives from the Maxwell School did not provide any details on the talks, but SU has a decade-long history of academic exchange with a North Korean university.

The meeting comes about a week after the United States agreed to give food aid to North Korea if North Korea freezes its uranium enrichment program and allows international inspectors in. Although this is a sign of recent progress, the two countries have not followed through on agreements to freeze programs in the past.

In the absence of formal diplomatic relations, the idea of track two talks is that both sides may come back and share information with their respective governments. Because details of the forum are not being released, it’s hard to predict what will come of the talks, said Chico Harlan, East Asia correspondent for The Washington Post and an SU alumnus.

But Ri Yong Ho, a vice minister of North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a significant player in North Korean foreign policy, and his visit is noteworthy.

‘I doubt this would’ve happened a year ago,’ Harlan said.

The Maxwell School has a 10-year history of communication with Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang, North Korea, said Stuart Thorson, director of the exchange program and a Maxwell professor. SU is the only U.S. institution with a sustained relationship with institutions in North Korea, he said. Although the governments of both countries do not have diplomatic relations, it does not mean nongovernmental institutions cannot, Thorson said.

‘We’re a university that’s built some trust with North Korea,’ Thorson said.

The program focuses on science and technology exchanges. Later this month, the Maxwell School is sending a delegation of people, including three from SU, to work with and teach English to North Korean scientists. Other collaborations have included helping to build the first digital library in North Korea.

For the past 10 years, several scholars from North Korea have come to campus for five-week periods. Maintaining communication and building relationships through nongovernmental channels is an important part of diplomacy, Thorson said.

‘One of the best ways to build a more peaceful world is to let people get to know each other on a personal level,’ he said.

In addition to the uniqueness of the relationship between SU and Kim Chaek University, the forum is a somewhat rare opportunity for gathering information about North Korea, Harlan said.

Said Harlan: ‘A thing like this is yet another opportunity to get a little bit of a glimpse into North Korea’s thinking, and those opportunities come around really rarely.’

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on March 4, 2012 at 12:00 pm