North Korea and the Future of Security on the Korean Peninsula

ACIR is honored to host retired South Korean Lieutenant General and former Commander of South Korea's Special Forces In-bum Chun who will speak on the topic, "North Korea and the Future of Security on the Korean Peninsula."

General Chun pulls no punches when he speaks, and he has much to say about North Korea's "Supreme Leader," Kim Jong Un, and his nuclear ambitions. Is Kim stalling and buying time with the current American and South Korean administrations while he continues his march toward completion of a nuclear tipped missile? General Chun's review of past European and American administrations as well as the current one will prove to be a most interesting one.

General Chun is the first South Korean officer since the Vietnam War to be awarded the U.S. Bronze Star, and in 2016, he received the U.S. Special Operations Command Medal. General Chun speaks perfect English, and he leaves no misunderstandings about his positions regarding threats on the Korean Peninsula and what realistic options face the United States and South Korea.

General Chun retired from military service in July 2016 after completing an illustrious 35 year career that included many command and staff assignments. In the latter years of his career, he served as the Director of U.S. Affairs at the Korean Ministry of National Defense, Commander of the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Special Warfare Command, and Deputy Commander for the First ROK Army. He has been a research fellow at the Center for International Studies, a contributor to the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and was a visiting fellow in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institute.