On March 27-28, 2008, the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the XII regular scientific conference of Russian and CIS Korean studies "Korea: on the threshold of Changes", which annually discusses a range of problems related to the Korean Peninsula, and scientists and specialists from different parts of Russia and the CIS get the opportunity to meet and learn about the where their colleagues work, share their results and experience.

The conference was attended not only by scientists, but also by representatives of government agencies and private organizations, as well as specialists in related fields. The 40 reports presented were divided into three sections: "Politics", "Economics", and "History and Culture".

The main purpose of the conference was to address the current problems of the current economic, political and social development of the DPRK and the ROK in the light of the constantly changing geopolitical situation, as well as the role of other states, in particular Russia, in missile defense-

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the process of settling the Korean issue. The discussion allowed us to identify the specifics of the processes taking place on the Korean Peninsula and identify areas for further research in the field of Korean studies.

Opening the conference, M. L. Titarenko, Director of the Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences, stressed the importance of holding such meetings. He noted some "pretentiousness" of the topic chosen for the conference, but considers it justified, since there is really a need to determine the potential in relations between countries. In addition, Mikhail Titarenko drew the attention of the audience to the importance of developing relations between the Russian Federation and both states of the Korean Peninsula and the inadmissibility of repeating the situation of 1992-1993, when relations between the Russian Federation and the DPRK were completely curtailed overnight on the Russian initiative.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to the Russian Federation Lee Gyu-hyun spoke about the development of cooperation between the two countries in such areas as space development and the connection of the Trans-Korean railway and the Russian Trans-Siberian Railway. He also noted that the views of the Russian and South Korean leaders on the" North Korean problem " have recently coincided, and this is important both for achieving stability and security in the NEA in general, and for the further development of relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan in particular.

Oleg Davydov (Russian Foreign Ministry) also made an opening speech, emphasizing that Russia and Korea have never been at enmity and maintain strong traditions of friendly relations.

At the "Politics" section, the main task of its participants was to cover and discuss the domestic political situation in the ROK and the DPRK and the foreign policy course of both states. Presentations were made by: A.V. Torkunov (Rector of MGIMO(U) Russian Foreign Ministry) "Methodological approaches to the study of the modern (post-war) history of Korea"; A. Z. Zhebin (Head of the IDV Center for Korean Studies) "In search of a security mechanism in the NEA: difficulties and Opportunities"; D. I. Kulkin (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) "The UN and problems of ensuring Peace and Security in the NEA"; A.V. Vorontsov (Head Department of Korea and Mongolia of the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "The Korean problem is once again at a crossroads"; R. V. Savelyev (IDV) "The American military contingent in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the US military and political presence in Korea"; V. S. Gaponenko (Director of the Center for International Relations. is-trace. Nevelsky Marine State University) "The Kumgang Tourism Project: political Philanthropy or commercial calculation"; K. V. Asmolov (IDV Central Research Institute) "China's Current Policy on the Korean Peninsula"; L. V. Zabrovskaya (Institute of Peoples of the Far East Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "A comparative analysis of the policy of Russia and China towards the DPRK in the works of Chinese scientists at the beginning of the XXI century"; V. V. A. Grynyuk (IDV) "Japan's position at the six-party Talks on the settlement of the nuclear problem on the Korean peninsula"; V. V. Khrustalev (Nevelsky Maritime State University) "The North Korean nuclear Arsenal"; Kim Yong Un (IDV Central Research Institute) "The Alignment of Political Forces in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2008"; I. A. Tolstukalov (head of the Department). Center for Korean Studies of the Far Eastern Peoples 'Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences)" National Security legislation as the main source of Anti-democratic tendencies in the Republic of Korea"; O. V. Apteeva(MGIMO (U) "Main ideological guidelines of the North Korean Army Priority policy (songun) at the present stage"; I. Yu. Pankina (IB RAS) " Songun Policy in the DPRK: causes, development and features".

A.V. Torkunov's report on methodology in studying the modern history of Korea became very important for all specialists dealing with Korean problems. In fact, it was devoted to the problems of periodization of the post-war history of Korea. Traditionally, experts in their works on the history of the Korean Peninsula, devoted to the second half of the XX - beginning of the XXI century, consider the two parts of the Korean Peninsula separately from each other, which significantly narrows the whole historical picture. The speaker emphasized that it is important for modern Korean studies to study the history of the DPRK and the ROK in a complex, inseparable from each other, and proposed his own periodization of the post-war history of the two Korean states: the first stage - the initial phase of decolonization on the peninsula and the establishment of military administrations of the USSR and the United States; the second-the institutionalization of power structures in the North and South of the Korean Peninsula (1948 - 1950); the third stage - the Korean War of 1950-1953, which caused a powerful psychological trauma to the entire nation and the consequences of which have not yet been overcome; the fourth stage - a vigorous start of economic development in both Koreas (1953-1961); the fifth stage is the continuation of development on the "competitive principle", lead-

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The DPRK retains the leading positions; the sixth stage began in the late 1980s and continues to this day. During this period, the ROK economy surpassed the DPRK economy in all indicators, and in political terms, South Korea made a transition to a civil society. The last stage is the most complex and ambiguous, characterized by two trends: the transition of the South to a "Korean-style" democracy, while simultaneously exacerbating the structural crisis in the North. The periodization method proposed by the author allows specialists to compare different stages of the development of the situation on the Korean peninsula, find and analyze in detail the most complex nodes of the Korean problem. This approach was used by the speaker in collaboration with V. I. Denisov and V. F. Lee in the book " The Korean Peninsula: Metamorphoses of Post-war History "(in print).

In connection with the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the international aspect of the Korean issue is particularly important, and therefore the most relevant reports were those that analyzed the current international situation around Korea. Thus, A.V. Vorontsov, after giving a brief description of the US-North Korean relations, concluded that today "the Korean issue remains open": both sides must find ways to compromise. In his report, K. V. Asmolov briefly outlined the main priorities of China's political line on the Korean peninsula: preventing the outbreak of military operations on the territory of Korea, strengthening the position and influence of the United States. The positions of other interested countries (primarily Russia and Japan) were also considered in the reports of other speakers.

Among the problems related to the situation on the Korean peninsula, the nuclear issue is particularly acute, and therefore V. V. Khrustalev's report on the DPRK's nuclear potential has become one of the most discussed, controversial and ambiguous. The author concluded in his report that the DPRK does indeed possess nuclear weapons today, and the fact of their presence significantly reduces the possibility of a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula in the near future. However, in the discussion that broke out after the report, other opinions were expressed, the authors of which believe that the presence of nuclear weapons in Pyongyang is not a definitively proven fact, and the conclusions of the speaker are made on the basis of too large assumptions. Be that as it may, the very possibility of having nuclear weapons in the DPRK is an effective method of deterring American aggression against North Korea.

During the final discussion on the results of the work of the political section, various opinions were expressed about the reports, controversial points were identified, but a unanimous conclusion was made about the undoubted usefulness of the work done at the section for all participants.

The following presentations were made at the Economics section: S. S. Suslin (MGIMO University) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) "China, Japan and Russia in the foreign economic priorities of South Korea"; P. S. Leshakov (ISAA at Moscow State University) "South Korean capital in Russia: problems and prospects"; A. A. Sanzhiev (IDV)" Lee Myung-bak's economic Program: is it possible to achieve the goals set?"; M. M. Steklov (MGIMO(U) "Energy Aspects of relations in the China-North Korea-South Korea Triangle"; D. N. Verkhoturov ("Regions of Russia") "Russia and Indonesia in oil supplies to Kazakhstan"; V. A. Ten (Surgut State University of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra) "On the policy of the Republic of Korea in relation to migrants from China"; S. O. Kurbanov (St. Petersburg State University) "Internet Revolution" and Internet Economy in KazakhstanA. F. Siyakova (MGIMO(U) " Mechanism of public-private partnership: Korean experience for Russian practice"; V. G. Pak (IDV Central Research Institute) "Problems of attracting foreign investment in the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan"; Yu. M. Popov (IDV) "Globalization, TNCs and policy towards FDI in the Republic of Kazakhstan"; A. N. Fedorovsky (IMEMO) "Stock Market Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan"; A. A. Popov (IDV) A. Nemov (IDV) "Main indices of the stock market of South Korea".

Today, the energy problem of the Korean Peninsula is acute. This was evidenced by the discussion that unfolded during the work of the section. If the DPRK has a shortage of energy carriers and the whole range of related problems, then the ROK, being fully provided with electricity, is forced to solve the issues of diversifying oil and gas suppliers, as well as find an opportunity to provide energy to North Korea.

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In addition, the section considered various options for transferring South Korean business experience to Russian organizations, and discussed the possibility of holding seminars with the participation of representatives of South Korean companies.

The section "History and Culture" was presented by the following participants: Yu. V. Vanin (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "Annexation of Korea by Japan: a modern discussion"; A. Yu. Ivanov (Far Eastern State University) "Korean-Japanese differences over the renaming of the Sea of Japan: sources and ways to solve the problem"; M. G. Volkov (Russian Foreign Ministry) "On the History of Orthodoxy in North Korea"; B. B. Park (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "K. I. Weber's Struggle against China's Encroachments on Korea in the Second Half of the 19th Century"; S. S. Radchenko (London School of Economics) "Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the USSR and South Korea"; V. V. Choi (Association of Descendants for the independence of Korea) "The Republic of Korea to Russian Koreans-fighters for the independence of Korea"; V. N. Dmitrieva(MGIMO (U) "The national language of the Korean Peninsula as a subject of Korean culture and politics"; D. A. Samsonov (Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkamera)) "On some new approaches to the study of the current state of ethnos (based on the publications of the State Museum of Ethnography of the Republic of Korea)"; A. A. Guriev (St. Petersburg State University) "On some ways to popularize traditional poetry in the native language in the Republic of Kazakhstan"; L. B. Shishkin (St. Petersburg State University). Khvan (Karakalpak State University named after him. Berdakh) " Culture as a phenomenon of humanization of social relations, ethnic and interethnic consolidation (based on the materials of Russian and Korean poetry)"; Lee Sang-yoon (Herzen State Pedagogical University) "Changes in society through the eyes of modern writers of the Republic of Korea"; G. A. Amanov (Institute of Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "Activities of the society" Creativity" (1919-1921)".

Yu. V. Vanin's report was mainly devoted to the legality and effectiveness of the 1910 annexation treaty and the Japanese-Korean agreements that preceded it. Analysis of these documents showed that some of them were concluded illegally, and disputes between Korea and Japan on this issue are still fierce. Based on this report and other reports of the section, it can be concluded that the historical events that took place on the Korean peninsula a hundred or more years ago continue to influence modern processes and determine the range of problems and features of today's relations between Korea and other states.

The conference brought undoubted benefits to its participants, providing an opportunity to communicate directly, discuss current issues, and share experience.

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