Dr. Kim Tae-kyung (Associate Research Fellow) had made a statement that South Korea can contribute to establishing multilateral cooperation for peace process on the Korean Peninsula with disaster risk reduction (DRR) arrangement in Northeast Asia in the current global situation where non-conventional security risks has been rising after the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report is intended to identify changes in DRR-related perception and governance of North Korea under Kim Jong-Un, and to draw policy alternatives by envisioning the DRR collaboration for peace process on the Korean Peninsula. According to Dr. Kim’s study, two notable points were identified – first, North Korea is showing relatively high affinity for interaction with international organizations and multilateral mechanisms, as well as for adaptation of universal norms in the process of DRR governance, thanks to constant activities of international organizations and humanitarian networks in the late 1990s. Second, North Korea is showing activeness in establishing domestic and overseas DDR governance as preventive response to non-conventional security risks such as pandemic, climate change and natural disasters by reorganizing its own legal system.
Consequently, it is Dr. Kim’s allegation that establishing a joint response within a multilateral framework via the UN agencies resident in North Korea will be worth considering in future DDR cooperation on the Korean Peninsula; for example, a multilateral DDR council owning to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), or alternatively, discovery and support of an inter-regional emergency response across the Korean Peninsula and other regions with the aid of International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), playing a critical role in DDR activities in North Korea. In his opinion, if DDR cooperation arrangement for the Korean Peninsula is made within the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction” which was adopted in 2015 Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, it may serve as a new driving force to overcome obstacles in the peace process and inter-Korean relations under the “emerging security” agenda.
“Korea should make various efforts to cooperate with East Asian countries while supporting increased roles of civil society, academia, and professional groups to enhance knowledge and attention to DRR, as well as regional communication and cooperation,” insists Dr. Kim. “Based on the development of a multi-layered network that includes the private sector, we can implement the vision for joint DRR on the Korean Peninsula.”
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