In 2012, Campbell was cautiously optimistic about the potential of science diplomacy to engage countries with whom formal relations were strained. Despite major geopolitical changes, she still believes this and is eager to see its power put to use.

A decade since their piece on scientific engagement in North Korea, Stuart Thorson and Frederick Carriere reflect on the difficulty of international cooperation when our shared understanding is deteriorating and scientific claims are under attack.

As sustained high-level diplomacy with North Korea unfolds, the Korean Peninsula may well be on the cusp of momentous change, including in its potential science cooperation with international partners. 

Collaboration between Western scientists and scientists in the DPRK and Eritrea demonstrates that international scientific cooperation can overcome even the most obstructive political complications. 

The 123 Agreement recently re-signed by the United States and South Korea allows for continued nuclear cooperation and includes increased freedom for South Korea to expand its nuclear operations with implications for future nonproliferation efforts.

North Korea will need international scientific expertise to identify and conserve important species that are vital to a sustainable future and therefore peace on the peninsula.

How a science diplomat’s career was influenced by things he learned from his father: a shared commitment to solving a problem is the bedrock of a friendship, life is not linear, and change requires challenging the orthodoxy.

By working with North Korea’s Kim Chaek University of Technology on a digital library, academic exchanges, and other projects, Syracuse University built trust and advanced open standards with this closed society.

The U.S.-DPRK Scientific Engagement Consortium, established in 2007, has connected scientists in North Korea and the United States despite strained official relations between the two countries.