Sunday, June 12, 2005
UW professor holds North Korea talks
By Kristi Heim
Seattle Times staff reporter
A University of Washington professor has done what U.S. political leaders have failed to do for more than a year: hold talks in North Korea aimed at averting a nuclear crisis.
While official negotiations have been stalled since last June, veteran East Asia professor Donald Hellmann visited North Korea for three days last week to conduct what he called the first international academic conference ever held there.
Hellmann said he was moved to help organize the conference out of frustration over the stalemate between the United States and North Korea over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
"Our policy regarding North Korea has simply not worked," he said by phone from South Korea.
"I wanted to do by example what I thought ought to be done: to assemble people from the negotiating parties and get their views on the table."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2002331391_korea12m.html