Understanding North Korea’s Role in the Middle East

Date and time: May 20, 9:30 to 11 am Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4), 4:30 to 6 pm Israel Daylight Time (UTC+3)

Register here.

Livestream on the INSS website and social media and on Brookings website

A panel of experts from the Brookings Institution in Washington DC and the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel will discuss Pyongyang’s activities in the Middle East.

Despite being nicknamed “the hermit kingdom,” North Korea has been active in distant Middle Eastern theaters for nearly half a century. North Korea has sold and collaborated with states across the region on military technology, especially missiles and missile parts, for decades, and assisted Syria and Libya with their nuclear programs, in particular. The Middle East is a source of much-needed revenue for North Korea, as well as international allies and partners.

What does North Korean leader Kim Jong Un want in the Middle East? How has Pyongyang’s activity impacted the region? From Israel’s perspective, what lessons can be learned from the experience of the Al-Kibar nuclear reactor in Syria, which involved North Korean scientists? What has Iran gained and learned from North Korea, and how are counter-proliferation strategies against each country similar and different?

Moderator: Dr. Shira Efron, visiting fellow, INSS

Speakers: Jung Pak, senior fellow and SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies, Brookings; Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, executive director, INSS; Robert Einhorn, senior fellow, Brookings; Sima Shine, senior research fellow and head of the Iran Program, INSS

Following the conversation, the panelists will take questions from the virtual audience. Questions can be posted during the livestream, emailed to conference@inss.org.il or via Twitter using #DPRKinMENA.