Previous attempts to enter into negotiations with the North Korean government have focused wholly on deploying a political solution to achieve denuclearization. The Institute is proposing an innovative approach to establish economic incentives to forge a lasting peace between the two Koreas and welcome North Korea into the modern, capitalist world.
Our Institute hosted an Economic Peace Summit (EPS) in Rome, Italy in April, 2019. The EPS brought together over 35 business leaders, government officials, and diplomats representing the respective interests of the United States, North and South Korea, Japan, and other Asian nations to discuss possibilities of an economic peace formula in a private enclave. We believe economic development is the key to opening North Korea to the world and removing nuclear stockpiles. This solution necessitates engaging business leaders in dialogue with government officials and diplomats.
As an act of good faith to the North Korean people, the representatives of western businesses and governments will devise bilateral terms of an independent “Tumen River Economic District.” Located on North Korea’s northeastern coast, the district will serve as the staging point for increased food aid to the North Korean children, for they are the future of any sustained peace negotiations. This district concept is a new paradigm for the Korean Peninsula, complete with law, banking, accounting, and finance systems, to assist North Korea as a first step to widespread economic prosperity. This peace conference was historically unprecedented in its approach to Trump administration directives for government and business to collaborate on a lasting solution.
