K. A. "Tony" Namkung center, talks with Associate Director for Strategic Research Directorate Leader Terry Wallace and Karl Jonietz, left, of the Technology Transfer (TT) Division, before Namkung's talk Dec. 12 in the J. Robert Oppnehimer Study Center at Technical Area 3. Namkung has worked for more than 20 years as an informal interlocutor between the U.S. and North Korea on humanitarian, energy and nuclear non-proliferation issues. He has a doctoral degree in Asian studies, is a former University of California, Berkeley faculty member and a Fulbright scholar. Namkung, a U.S. citizen raised in Japan, spoke about the process of informal parallel negotiations (often referred to as Track 1.5 or Track 2 talks), and on the current six-party discussions aimed at eliminating North Korean nuclear weapons. Namkung, who has logged many trips to North Korea and more than 550 contacts with North Korean representatives, pointed out that informal "back channel" talks are a device used repeatedly by both Republican and Democratic administrations, because operating outside of the rules of formal diplomacy frequently allows for more open and frank discussion, especially among adversaries. Namkung emphasized the closed nature of North Korea, providing several illustrations from the trip in October when he accompanied Gov. Bill Richardson to Pyongyang. He concluded by pointing out how patient and diligent he believes the United States must be if it is to succeed in getting North Korea to relinquish what has been, and will continue to be, their major international bargaining chip. Namkung and the Laboratory have been working together for the past 18 months on the Asia Initiative, an effort involving Los Alamos and Sandia national labs, New Mexico's universities and others with the goal of interesting Japanese and Korean companies and research institutes in technical collaborations in New Mexico. ADSR and TT Division are leading the Lab's involvement under Appendix M, as part of Los Alamos' efforts to promote regional economic development.
