thank you. -- welcome our guest today, peter beck. thank you.[applause] >> i would really like to thank the korean embassy for putting this together. thank you for an ice cold weather to not make me miss this place too much. i also wanted to thank the korean embassy, because because of this event, i was contacted late last week by "the wall street journal." they were interested in the topic, and they asked me to write an op-ed for them. i was happy to do so. i have written a lot of articles, but i have never had one go through so many revisions before, and suggested changes. in fact, there are so many changes that i hardly recognize the article. i sent to france both versions, the published version and the original -- to friends both versions, the published version and the original version, to give an idea of the sausage making of op-ed-writing. i give them two different ledes and they made their own. i will start with mine. a few years ago, we were taken to the international friendship hall, which is the cavernous buildings built into the hills

so, with that being said, please welcome our guest today, peter beck. thank you.applause] >> thank you, adam. i'd really like to think the korean embassy for putting this wonderful gathering together. i'm really happy to see so many old friends. i know you came for the food but i'll pretend it was for me. and i also thank you for the nice cold weather today i did not miss this place too much, but with a little cold weather. i also wanted to thank the korean embassy because of this event i suddenly was contacted late last week by "the wall street journal." they were interested in the topic and they asked me to write a story, an op-ed for them. and i was happy to do so. i've written a lot of articles that i've never had one goes through so many revisions before and suggested changes. and in fact they are so many changes i hardly recognize the article that resulted and i sent some friends, both versions of publisher versions of the original version to give them a sense of the sausage making of the bad writing. and i'd be happy to share that with you. so simply didn't

our next speaker is peter beck with the walter h. shorenstein center for asia-pacific research. peter. >> i guess it is very appropriate they will have a picture of polar bears behind me while i am doing my presentation. i had forgotten how cold it can get here now that i am out in california. i want to congratulate scott and richard for putting this program together and tell them what an honor it is to be the weak link in a strong chain that they have put together of papers on areas of corporations that we don't typically look at when we think of u.s.-korean relations. i think this is a project that takes out of the box of issues we should be concentrating on. one of those issues is human rights, something that gets a lot of attention in our press, gets a lot of attention in the korean press, but often there is not much we can do about it. we are certainly not doing much bilaterally. so there is a lot of area for potential cooperation. as scott mentioned, in the joint vision statement at that hour to presidents agreed on last june here in washington there is a statement, we will

the next speaker is peter beck with the walter shorenstein center from stanford university and speaking of human rights on the subject of which he knows a lot. peter? >> i guess it is appropriate to have pictures of call their peers behind me while i give my presentation. i had forgotten how cold it can get here now that i live in california. i want to congratulate scott and richard for putting this program together and tell them what it honor it is to be the weak link in a strong team they have put together of papers in areas of cooperation we don't typically look at plan rethink of great relations and i think it is a project that thinks outside of the box about what we should be concentrating on. one of those is human-rights and it gets a lot of attention in the press and in the korean press but said there is not much we can do about it but we're not doing much by the utterly. there is a lot of area for potential cooperation. s scott mentioned in the introductory remarks. in the vision statement that the two presidents agreed on last june in washington, there is a statement we will wo

peter have said you got to solve this in a regional way. and some opportunities are arising. and interestingly, csic -- csis said our ability to create an alternative path through es beckre creating relationship that is play contribute to a modern silk road for development in the region. i'll go back to my original point of humility as time goes on, i am less confident in my ability to provide policy prescriptions. i can only say that the ones we're trying to carry out now are far too complex and far too costly to succeed in the time that we have available. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you for inviting me here. i want to start with a disclaimer. i completely agree with frank. the more i learn from -- from personal scorpse, and from the extent -- extensive studies on affinging a, the -- afghanistan, the less i know. with that in mind, i hope you'll indulge me and perhaps -- listen to -- when i have to say. and first of all, we're not dealing with a war. we're dealing with -- with two wars. and when nobody -- one nobody really talks about. the one that is probably the most important and they cannot disconnect it, and they're independent r independent