Description

Based on his long personal experience of Northeast Asia, as well as his unusual position as Ambassador to two of world’s most different societies, Ted Lipman will reflect on where North and South Korea are today, their differences and similarities, and what their future holds. He will be speaking at the Munk Center fresh from his most recent trip to Pyongyang, and will share his impressions of the current state of affairs there, as well as the changes he’s observed over the years. He will also comment on the growing partnership between Canada and South Korea (both of which are hosting G20 Summits this year), and Canada’s role in international efforts to achieve peace and security on the Korean peninsula.

Ambassador Lipman has had an eye on the Korean peninsula since his days as a student at Peking University in the 1970s, where North Koreans numbered among his classmates. Much later, in 1999-2001, he was one of Canada’s senior diplomats in Beijing responsible for negotiating the opening of Canada’s official relations with the DPRK. He also served as Consul General in Shanghai, Head of Mission in Taipei, Director General for East Asia in the Canadian foreign ministry, and visiting scholar at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia, before taking up his current post in 2007 as Canada’s Ambassador to both North and South Korea.