This program explores the historical and contemporary relationship between North Korea and Russia. How did the Kim Regime’s relationship with the Soviet Union evolve during The Korean War, early Cold War period, and the Sino-Soviet split? How did triangular diplomacy with the People’s Republic of China play a shaping role in the relationship? How should we characterize relations from the end of the Cold War period, including South Korea’s Nordpolitik, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of the Russian Federation? Finally, how should we view recent developments, including weapons transfers, military cooperation, and policy coordination, in the context of the historical relationship? This discussion features historian Dr. Kathryn Weathersby and is moderated by policy director Jonathan Corrado.

The Korea Society thanks the Kim Koo Foundation, our corporate sponsors, and individual members for their generous support, which has made this program possible. 

The Moscow-Pyongyang Connection, Then and Now, with Dr. Kathryn Weathersby

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 | 4 PM (EDT)

The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017

About the Speaker:

Dr. Kathryn Weathersby is Adjunct Professor of Asian Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. A specialist on the Korean War and the history of North Korea, she previously taught in the Department of History of Korea University, Seoul, and at the US-Korea Institute of the School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, DC. In the 1990s she conducted pioneering research in Russian archives on the establishment of the DPRK and the Korean War and has written and lectured widely on these subjects. In 2014 the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of the Republic of Korea honored her work by awarding her the Medal of Civilian Merit.