Eminent diplomats, policymakers, technical experts, and scholars from the United States, South Korea, and North Korea analyzed the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula, and its implications for advancing regional and global energy cooperation.

The February 26th conference occurred just as the Obama administration announced that it was taking steps toward a renewal of the six-party talks process and reports that North Korea was preparing to test-fire its long-range missile.

CISTP Co-director Adam Stulberg said, "As differences between U.S. and South Korean approaches to engaging North Korea come under greater scrutiny amid escalating political and economic tensions on the peninsula, there will be growing pressure to search out new areas for deepening cooperation, especially on energy security. In light of persistent difficulties with implementing the denuclearization agreement, the surging Korean demand for energy, and the focus on energy diplomacy in the U.S., the future trajectory of the Six-Party process is becoming increasingly tied to energy security, creating challenges and opportunities for sustaining cooperation not only on the peninsula but across the region."

Remarks from Kurt Tong, the U.S. State Department's Director of Korean affairs and of Minister Kim Myong-gil, North Korea's representative to the United Nations were designated as "off-the-record" and not for publication, but other diplomats and experts offered perspectives on policy.

Read more about the conference via link to CNN article.