North Korea - Obama Presidency Oral History Back North Korea Index / Locations Transcripts John Kerry ...China Sea freedom of navigation; North Korea ; the China relationship—what som... ...Sea, efforts we made to try to get North Korea to be willing to talk and also to rais... ...talk and also to raise the sanctions on North Korea . We got China to raise the sanction... ...maybe more. It wasn't perfect. North Korea is a tough nut. China is the key, an... ...would've pursued that, as well as North Korea , as well as the business issues tha... ...have. Nothing is happening except that North Korea has many more weapons today. So that'... Show more... Denis McDonough ...about last time, which is the Cuba, North Korea , Iran question. Those struck people a... Hillary Clinton ...foray into unconditional diplomacy with North Korea —there's no way an American presiden... ...information about what was going on in North Korea . I also visited a women's college... ...to cause a lot of problems. I mean, North Korea is probably a tenth-rate economy, an... Michael Froman ...a security side, South China Sea and North Korea , counterterrorism, on the human right... Antony Blinken ...measures— Yeah. —evolved with North Korea , China, Burma, Indonesia. So, we onl... Felice Gorordo ...Hugo Chávez, and Kim Jong-un from North Korea if given the opportunity, because h... Jerome Sauvage ...coordinator for the United Nations in North Korea from 2009 to 2013. He was also countr... ...obviously an important precedent to North Korea , as we're going to be discussing. Ho... ...about it, it was actually comparable to North Korea in that there were only the few U... ...was going to ask—you know, North Korea 's one of the most unique places in th... ...own words, how did the appointment to DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea... ...exactly. I think I was selected for North Korea , for DPRK, because I had both th... ...I was selected for North Korea, for DPRK , because I had both the admin... ...also played a role. So, you go to North Korea in 2009. Chronologically, I want t... ...I think in the particular case of North Korea , the UNDP had closed its agency i... ...the UNDP had closed its agency in North Korea due to a US Senate investigation. Mayb... ...I carried that through my whole time in North Korea , aware that there was only such—th... ...between the international community and North Korea dates back to mid-1990s, when th... ...capitalist form of economies—but not North Korea . They just tried to survive, and th... ...2008. By 2008, the relationship between North Korea and the rest of the world started t... ...the rest of the world started to sour. North Korea was out of famine; they felt mor... ...begin to get—the relationship between North Korea and the rest of the world became not s... ...'07, is when the investigation into North Korea —into UNDP operation in North Kore... ...into North Korea—into UNDP operation in North Korea happened, and the closing of UND... ...the back by some scandal about helping North Korea 's military. I mean, they just couldn'... ...computers. But that was not to be in DPRK ; because, first of all, the questio... ...You know, there's a lot of floods in North Korea . So you have these valleys that ru... ...you for a snapshot of what you found in North Korea when you arrived there in the secon... ...control—there's plenty of control in North Korea . It's more a state of tota... ...I mean, food; let's begin with food. North Korea is an almost complete autarchy. The... ...replant the rice. It's quite practical. North Korea is all mountains. South Korea has muc... ...military, the three centers of power of North Korea . And I was in the government side o... ...on which to base decisions? Yes. North Korea is the country with, certainly, th... ...data is one of the biggest problems in DPRK . But when we got a good assessment, w... ...for example, that the population of DPRK was not growing. That children—ther... ...donor countries to what was going on in North Korea , did you find? Were you able to mee... ...But nowhere is it as difficult as in DPRK , because of the nuclear question. It'... ...very low, because of that question of North Korea 's unwillingness to suspend its nuclea... ...about two dollar per person. By far, North Korea is the country with the least amount o... ...that issue—there was no question that DPRK was going to continue its developmen... ...may. They are worried about food in North Korea . The memory of the famine is reall... ...it gets heightened on that continuum. North Korea in 2010, right after I arrived, sank ... ...Kim Jong-il died, I was in North Korea . I stayed, and I was at th... ...And everybody thought, Okay, well, DPRK might well open up under Kim Jong-un... ...between the international community and North Korea , this is bad for us. It's going to en... ...you see, you're having problem with North Korea , dear donor, but now you have to g... ...the working unit, it is better. The North Korea —family is a unit. That's—you know, an... ...with the US special envoys for North Korea before the Leap Day Deal, or wha... ...lot of ambassadors—our dual ambassador, North Korea –China. In Seoul, same idea; dua... ...fact, the US was present as a donor in North Korea through a UN mechanism. It's called th... ...for the humanitarian assistance to North Korea during those years. And US was a—gav... ...that was their way to be involved in North Korea . So that's how I had interactio... ...that, we were kept informed, was that North Korea agreed to do a moratorium on it... ...stuff. But again, April 2012 happened. North Korea launched a missile. There you go. An... ...with the National Committee for North Korea and the UNDP office, liaison office, i... ...impression that one country matters in North Korea —it's the United States. It'... ...I was the resident coordinator in North Korea , I had incredible access. I would hav... ...the North Koreans are doing it too. For North Korea , everything is political, domesticall... ...time, or reflecting on your time, in North Korea —it was about three years, I believe—... ...China really became the sole partner to North Korea . That was the one very important—whic... ...bit less important now in the eyes of North Korea . But North Korea plays—North Korea i... ...now in the eyes of North Korea. But North Korea plays—North Korea is surrounded by th... ...of North Korea. But North Korea plays— North Korea is surrounded by the biggest—China... ...have incredible intensive agriculture. North Korea is not intensive agriculture. It'... ...and some of the partisan politics about North Korea . I wonder when you—you know, then yo... ...as their resident coordinator from North Korea , and I had open door everywhere. Firs... ...partisan, on every other—other than North Korea , where you built together teams... ...to me; in fact, it was easier to be in North Korea than to be in Washington, DC... ...countries had no interest to the US. So North Korea , my training program was much mor... ...reminds me of what you said about North Korea in 2005, 2006, where the United Nation... ...My wife is American. She was with me in North Korea ; she was the only US citizen in Nort... ...Korea; she was the only US citizen in North Korea . So after nine countries, thirty year... ...thinking about Vietnam, thinking about North Korea , and maybe some particula... Show more... 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