This lecture is part of a series entitled "Lectures linking North Korea and Iraq." Dr. Kyung-Won Kim currently serves as president of the Institute of Social Sciences in Seoul, where he is also president of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs. Prior to his post in Washington, he was ambassador to the United Nations (1982-1985), and from 1975-1980 he serves as special assistant for international affairs to the Korean president. Dr. Kim holds a PhD from Harvard University, and honorary doctorates from Williams College and York University.

How is the American-led war in Iraq affecting Asian countries and their relations with the United States? Is a clash of civilizations underway? Will Islamist rage in Southeast Asia spawn terrorist attacks on Americans there? Will Islamist parties in Indonesia be able to ride this wave of anger into power in the elections to be held in April 2004? Will the regime in North Korea take advantage of American preoccupations in Iraq and Afghanistan to escalate tensions in Northeast Asia? How will the economies of Southeast and Northeast Asia be affected by the conflict in Iraq? Will Washington's priority on ousting Saddam Hussein undermine its effort to stabilize Afghanistan? And what will the repercussions in Asia be if, against the expectation of many observers, the Iraq war turns out to be short and the seeds of Iraqi democracy are successfully sown?

Japan and America's two most senior statesmen examine the Iraq and North Korea crises. How these two challenges are resolved will have profound implications for the U.S.-Japan relationship and its ability to deal with future regional and global challenges. This is the inaugural program in the Yomiuri-Japan Society Distinguished Speaker Series.

The European Forum, in association with the European Union Center of California at Scripps College, is hosting a workshop on "The EU, the US and the WTO" on February 28 and March 1, 2003. The aim of the workshop is to conduct an in-depth discussion in an academic setting about the current state of the WTO, the relationship between the EU and the US and that institution, and the prospects for a successful Doha round of trade negotiations. Invited participants from the US and the EU, including economists, political scientists and lawyers will be at the meeting.

The workshop will address five topics in its sessions. After a keynote address on Friday morning the workshop will look at the WTO as an evolving institution, the EU and the WTO, and the US and the WTO. The Workshop recommences on Saturday at 9:00am, to discuss transatlantic cooperation and the WTO and prospects for the Doha Round.