UH Hilo political scientist Su-Mi Lee is co-editor of new book on North Korea denuclearization process
Negotiation Dynamics to Denuclearize North Korea brings together country experts with negotiation specialists to apply negotiation theory to the North Korea denuclearization process.
By Riana Jicha and Susan Enright.
A University of Hawai‘i at Hilo political scientist is co-editor of a new book published this month that comprehensively examines the goals, strategies, and motives of the six parties involved in North Korea denuclearization talks through the lens of negotiation theory.
Associate Professor of Political Science Su-Mi Lee, a scholar in international conflict management specializing in mediation and negotiation, has also co-authored two essays in Negotiation Dynamics to Denuclearize North Korea: Cohesion and Disarray (May 2023, SUNY Press), where she applies her research into North Korea’s nuclear negotiations.
Co-editor with Lee is Terence Roehrig, a professor of national security affairs at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. Roehrig’s primary expertise is in Korean security and politics, North Korean nuclear weapons, U.S.-South Korea alliance, international relations, and deterrence theory.
Arrived! Our new book on NK denuke negotiation process- #SuMiLee @UHHilo in the lead. Country experts work with negotiation specialists to apply negotiation theory. @SUNYPress
Super authors: @snydersas; @flw66; @RichardWeitzDC; @PamelaAall; #YukiTatsumi; #PaigeCone; #UkHeo pic.twitter.com/eWJ6iRlEZf— Terence Roehrig (@tjroehrig) April 15, 2023
Lee became interested in the topic after the false missile alert in Hawai‘i in 2018. She says that when the alert was broadcast, her studies made her quickly realize it had to be a mistake. Upon seeing the understandable distress of everyone around her, it inspired her to take academic action. “I thought it would be helpful to talk in Hawai‘i about North Korea and negotiations on nuclear missiles,” says Lee on providing information about the topic.
“At first, I thought I would write a book by myself,” explains Lee. “Then, I realized that it would be better if I could collaborate with other experts and I would contribute to a negotiation chapter.”
She invited experts on the six countries involved in the nuclear negotiations with North Korea to write about those countries’ goals, motives, and negotiation strategies.
In addition to co-editing, Lee’s two essays in the new book discuss the role of negotiation in conflict management and lessons learned from 40 years of negotiations between North Korea and the five primary countries of South Korea, United States, China, Japan, and Russia.
The book
As the publisher SUNY Press describes, Negotiation Dynamics to Denuclearize North Korea brings together country experts with negotiation specialists to apply negotiation theory to the North Korea denuclearization process. Country expert chapters provide a detailed assessment of the goals, motives, and strategies of the six parties—North Korea, South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia—along with contextual variables of each player such as political, economic, and social conditions while the negotiation scholars collate and scrutinize the results of these key variables.
Based on thorough descriptive contexts provided by the country experts, the negotiation scholars identify the lack of two factors, party cohesion and ripeness, as detriments to successful North Korea nuclear negotiations.
Being one of the few books that provides a detailed collection of the negotiation strategies of all the players in the six-party talks that aimed for a peaceful resolution with North Korea, the book provides more knowledge and indispensable research toward more successful negotiation outcomes.
“The book is about the challenges with bilateral multiparty negotiations in general that were exhibited in North Korea’s case,” explains Lee. “The challenges discussed are that five countries on one side, trying to denuclearize North Korea on the other side, could not share the same goals, motives, and thus strategies. This disarray created confusion and weakened the leverages five countries used to induce more concessions from North Korea.”
Lee says the analysis of the contributors highlights that each party had different goals it wished to achieve during the six-party negotiations.
“These countries were motivated by different reasons, and, thus, how much they could afford to concede varied greatly,” says Lee. “Inconsistency in negotiation strategies adopted by different countries also did not help. Thus, the lack of cohesion among the five countries resulted in unsuccessful negotiations with North Korea.”
Lee says the book concerns “ripeness of negotiation, stressing there is no window of opportunity for negotiation to succeed without ripeness.”
“Through the case of North Korea nuclear negotiations, this book demonstrates successful negotiation is expected only when every party to the negotiation perceives a mutually hurting stalemate and a way out.”
Related work
Aligned with the book’s theme, Lee received a research grant in August 2019 to speak on the six countries’ involvement in negotiating with North Korea on its denuclearization. In May of 2021, she hosted a virtual public forum, “Strategy and Negotiations for Denuclearizing North Korea: Was There Ever a Chance?” Several experts on each country’s politics and foreign relations participated in the discussion.
“Country experts provided all contexts—domestic matters—that negotiation scholars could analyze and use to evaluate negotiations,” says Lee. “It was a perfect collaboration effort.” Participants said that lack of agreement and cohesion among the countries resulted in unsuccessful negotiations with North Korea.
International recognition
Lee’s work on denuclearization and mediation with North Korea was recognized in May of 2021 with a nomination by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Honolulu for her to serve as a member of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC) of the Republic of Korea. She was subsequently appointed in September 2021 by the President of the Republic of Korea for a two-year term.
The PUAC aims to promote a democratic and peaceful unification of the two Koreas; the President of Korea and chair of PUAC appoint members nominated by government officials who are either domestic or international. As of 2023, the PUAC holds 45 municipal chapters representing 131 countries.
Since becoming a member of the PUAC, Lee has attended ceremonies honoring Korean War veterans. She shares a story of one veteran who was shot in the stomach and hospitalized for weeks; the veteran expressed he would do it all over again to protect the freedom of South Korea.
“So moving and inspiring,” says Lee. “This reminds me of the passage at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., that says, ‘Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.'”
Lee notes that participating in the events provided by the PUAC helps her engage in public diplomacy that she advocates professionally and implores her students to do the same.
Riana Jicha is double majoring in administration of justice and political science at UH Hilo.
Susan Enright is a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
