Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) promotes cooperation between North and South Korea, and knowledge sharing between Germany and North Korea. Within North Korea, it supports economic modernization and development. 

From 2012 to 2016, I planned and organised lectures by German politicians, scholars, and business representatives in North Korea. They were attended by staff members of various ministries, the Supreme People’s Assembly, the cabinet, public authorities, and people’s committees from several provinces.

In February 2013, North Korea's third nuclear test triggered a crisis. The government in Pyongyang closed the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), a special economic zone just north of the inner-Korean border, where South Korean companies employed North Korean workers. 

After several months of negotiations, both Koreas eventually agreed to reopen and to internationalise the KIC. The FNF supported North and South Korea's declaration to attract foreign investors to Kaesong by sharing experiences made in the East of Germany after reunification.

01

In August 2013, FNF brought an expert on the promotion of regional economic development to North Korea. 
One year later, the mayor of Dresden followed up with a presentation on his experiences with foreign investors.

02

FNF organised a lecture on sustainable urban planning in Pyongyang and invited a group of North Korean urban planners on a study tour to Germany. 
The North Koreans visited Germany in November 2014. 

03

After North Korea removed travel restrictions in March 2015, the former mayor of Bremerhaven talked in Pyongyang about the benefits tourism can have on the economy. 

04

North Koreans learned about the German dual system of vocational education and training in August 2015.

Frozen relations and projects

In October 2015, a dozen German organisations, including FNF, presented their work in Pyongyang and discussed future projects. However, most programs were shelved ​as a result of North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January 2016. Inner-Korean relations hit rock bottom after the government in Seoul closed the KIC one month later, and the United Nations Security Council drastically stepped up sanctions against North Korea. I returned to Germany in April 2016 but keep watching the situation on the Korean peninsula with great interest. 

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