Foreign Affairs committee  I've read all the papers, the interpretations of that. It was Santayana who said that one must know one's history or else you'll have to re-live it. One would that we have actually learned from those possibilities and do not make the same sorts of mistakes. I do believe that th

Foreign Affairs committee  Let us make sure that our political masters are much wiser than they have been in the past. MacMillan's The War That Ended Peace is a fine example of how things can just go downhill. I believe we have a huge challenge in terms of the United States right now.

Foreign Affairs committee  As I mentioned initially, I do believe that Canada has to know for itself what is happening on the ground in North Korea, and you can't do that by reading intelligence reports by somebody else, or listening to what others have to say. I really do believe that you have to be on th

Foreign Affairs committee  There were times when I was a member that the voting score was 46 to one, and I felt that I had surrounded the other 46 members who voted against a Canadian motion, but it had to be there.

Foreign Affairs committee  I've seen the Chinese-Russian connection and the tag team they played in the Human Rights Council, certainly in areas of nuclear arms control, and from a greater distance, the Security Council deliberations, particularly with respect to North Korea. It has been fascinating there

Foreign Affairs committee  It's a tough slog. You've got so many authoritarian dictatorships out there, and they don't like hearing what I believe should be a fundamental Canadian consistent message of concern. This is not only because of Canadian values and all of those sorts of good things, but there is

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much for the invitation. In terms of my own credentials with respect to Asia-Pacific, I've had five postings to the region, including as ambassador to Vietnam and to North and South Korea concurrently. Somewhere in-between, I was also the director for Southeast As

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. There has been an attitude, I think, when looking at the Koreas, of “South Korea, democratic, good” and “North Korea, communist, bad; don't deal with them”. One can cite other examples of that in terms of Canadian foreign policy, which I believe is wrong.

Foreign Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Foreign Affairs committee  The human rights situation of course is terrible. You can convey certain Canadian concerns, as we do in the Human Rights Council in Geneva, as I've done, but that only gets you so far. The denuclearization question is probably the most frustrating. When I say to the Chinese, “Kim

Foreign Affairs committee  I think it is, but we have to bring something to the table. That means credibility and that means experience with North Korea. I agree also with the second-track type of approach, but it's really hard to talk to so-called ordinary North Korean citizens. We have to try it all. N

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. This is a big issue. There are a number of Chinese concerns. Probably the long-term strategic one is the United States and its relationship with Japan, with South Korea, the alliances, etc. First of all, they do not want, I believe, a unified Korea. I think it's going

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, sir. The phrase used to be “the relationship was as close as lips to teeth”, and yes, now it is to “hugs”. It is very interesting to see China's frustration actually being expressed in terms of, say, the Security Council. I talked to the Chinese every time I had to

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to address the standing committee. Back in 2006, Ottawa asked that I write a short note on my personal views on North Korea. I started by commenting words to the effect that Stalin would be jealous of what “The Great Leader” Ki