Park spoke briefly on the issue of sending food to North Korea and the concern that it would directly feed the military rather than the starving citizens.
"In North Korea, everyone is army personnel. You see uniformed people all over," Park said. "If you are hesitant to provide for that concern, don't provide; if you think soldiers are also human beings, then you can send."
Strategies for working with North Korea while encouraging capitalist ideas were discussed by Mitchell B. Reiss, assistant executive director and senior policy advisor of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO).
"Never get angry, except on purpose," Reiss advised. "It's important for negotiation to persevere in treating North Korea with respect and dignity."
Reiss agreed with Park about the importance of empathy.
"North Korea has a great deal of fear and mistrust to the outside world," Reiss said. "What this means is North Korea has a better idea of what it doesn't want to achieve than what it does."
Donald P. Gregg, president and chair of the New York based Korea Society, brought a very recent political perspective to the table. He spoke with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in Seoul last week.
"I think that the attitude and the mood in Washington today is not conducive [towards improving North Korean relations]," Gregg said. "Republicans are acting in an extraordinarily partisan way."
Gregg said many Republicans are watching President Clinton closely, looking for any aid towards North Korea or proposals to lift sanctions.
"I wish I could say something more positive, but I feel the next two years up to the election are a very dangerous time with regards to North Korea," Gregg said.
Edward J. Baker, associate director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, said negotiations depended on both countries.
"I would like to see the North Korean side become more sophisticated as to how to deal with us while we become more sophisticated as how to deal with them," he said.
The panel was sponsored by the Korea Society, the Korea Institute and the Harvard-Radcliffe Korean Association.