Four present and former officials from North Korea and 14 former officials and scholars from the United States met at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies from June 1 to June 3 to have rare informal discussions on North Korean economy and security. The identities of the North Korean attendees, who were described as “”high-level officials,”” were not revealed, nor was the conference announced beforehand, at the North Koreans’ request.

“”This [dialogue] is the first of its kind, in the level of the people involved on the American side and the Korean side as well,”” said UCSD professor Susan Shirk, an attendee during the discussions and a specialist on Asian politics and international affairs.

There was also an effort made to keep the specifics of the discussion within the room.

“”We all spoke as individuals, not as representatives of our government,”” said Bradley Babson, a consultant on Asian affairs and expert on the North Korean economy.

According to Shirk, there have been several similar discussions between the United States and North Korea in the recent past, but only one other concentrated specifically on the bilateral relations between the two nations.

“”The problem is that North Korea feels threatened by the U.S., and the U.S. feels threatened by North Korea,”” Shirk said.

The event was hosted by the UC-wide Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, which was founded and is based at UCSD.

Bob Einhorn, deputy assistant during the Clinton administration, was among the conference’s attendees. UCSD professors in attendance included Larry Krause and Stephan Haggard, both from IR/PS.

According to Babson, both sides were in agreement on the importance of open dialogue between the two countries.

“”The purpose of the discussions was to clarify and understand that each side has major issues,”” said IR/PS Dean Peter Cowhey. “”It is hard to know how to estimate what the other side is thinking.””

Among the issues discussed were nuclear weapons, security and economic reforms.

“”The nuclear issue was really front and center,”” Shirk said.

Conference attendees from the United States’ side will be in communication with the government.

According to Babson, such talks are a good start to improve relations between the two nations.

“”Everyone in the meeting had high hopes and wanted to make the effort,”” Babson said.