An Australian diplomat’s lessons from 30 years with North Korea
This podcast was first published in NK News.
In the last two years, North Korea has emerged as newly weaponised and more deeply integrated with China and Russia. How did we get here? Jane reflects on these and other questions - going back to her first official visit to Pyongyang in 2001 - surrounding a dangerous strategic situation which has continued to evolve close to home.
Former Australian diplomat Jane Hardy joins this episode to discuss how Australia has engaged with North Korea over the past few decades, and what that experience reveals about diplomacy, deterrence and nuclear risk today.
Hardy, who spent over 30 years in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, shares insights from her work on Korean Peninsula issues during the Sunshine Policy era, including Australia’s brief normalization with Pyongyang and her own visit to North Korea in 2001.
Jane Hardy is a former senior Australian diplomat who has served in seven long-term overseas missions, four at ambassador level. She also held numerous senior executive positions at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, during her 33-year career. Jane is now a senior fellow at the U.S. Studies Center, Sydney University advising the Women in the Alliance program.
About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.
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