"The 2nd Pyongyang Joint Medical Symposium of the DPRK and Overseas Korean Medical Scientists:
May 2-4, 2000"

Participants from the U.S.(CAMM):

Dr. Yoon Berm Kim Dr. Il Yung Lee Dr. Richard S. Hann Dr. Daniel C. Park

Dr. Jun Young Cho Dr. Youngsik Moon Dr. Kyuhyun Wang Dr. Moon J. Pak

Reported by: Moon J. Pak, M.D.

The Meeting: Eight of us arrived in Pyongyang on April 29, greeted by Mr. Hyun, a "Chamsa" working for the Committee to Aid the Overseas Compatriots, heretofore called the Committee. We were housed in the Pyongyang Hotel, located next to the Pyongyang Opera House. We participated in the festivities of the May Day on Monday; watching the parade, dancing with the citizens of the city at the evening outdoor party at the Kim Il Sung Square, etc.

The meeting began officially on Wednesday at the People's Cultural Palace(it is a large and very elegant meeting hall where in June 15, the summit meeting between the two Kims were held) with an opening ceremony, in which brief speeches were given by DPRK Vice Minister of Public Health, Dr. Chang Sik Choe and the Vice President of their Medical Association Dr. In Kuk Kim. Dr. Moon J. Pak (probably because he was leading the largest foreign delegation) was asked to make a congratulatory address. It was a brief and an impromptu one, but the audience graciously received it with prolonged and warm applause. It was followed by 2 days of scientific meeting in which over 50 papers were presented. The quality and scientific level of the papers presented by the DPRK scientists were quite good. A few examples of the titles:

"New method of producing hepatitis C antibody reagent utilizing recombinant DNA method"

"Advanced diagnostic technology for the myocardial infarction"

"Case studies; Laparoscopic intraperitoneal surgery - an experience at the Third People's Hospital in Pyongyang"

"Transurethral ultrasound therapy in benign prostatic hypertrophy"

"Experience in the treatment of hip fracture using the prosthetic femoral head manufactured in the DPRK"

"The use of Ag-NORS staining method in the determination of the degree of malignancy in certain types of brain tumors"

The 8 papers presented by our visiting U.S. group were very well received. In general, we had to cut our presentation short due to the limitation in time. However, much loss was recovered during the informal, group-discussion sessions after the second day of the Meeting, which was wisely suggested and organized by Dr. In Kuk Kim.

The meeting was adjourned by a brief ceremony at which time a letter to Chairman Kim Jong Il expressing the appreciation of the entire participants of the meeting (DPRK scientists, U.S. delegation, Japanese-Korean team, Chinese-Korean delegation, and a lone lady physician from Uzbeckistan) was read by Dr. Moon J. Pak, as suggested by the organizers. It should be mentioned that the initial draft of the letter was prepared by the DPRK organizers of the meeting but Dr. Pak and the rest of the U.S. delegation were given an opportunity to review it and revise it. We did make rather extensive revisions and the revised copy was readily and graciously accepted by the organizers. Dr. Pak read the revised copy of the address (the text of the address appeared in the front page of the next day's the Rodong Ilbo).

The meeting was attended by 131 DPRK scientists, 8 member U.S. delegation, 3 member Korean-Japanese, 5 member Korean-Chinese delegation, and 1 from Uzbeckistan. The visiting teams presented the total of 14 papers, of which 8 were from the U.S. delegation, and there were 57 papers all together presented and discussed at the two day meeting.

Next Meeting: Post-meeting review, and planning for the next meeting was held under a very cordial and accommodating, and diplomatic leadership of the Vice Minister Choe. The summary:

1. It will be held in the first week of the month of May, 2001, but will avoid their May Day holiday.

2. The first day of the meeting will be for the review presentations reserving the second day for the presentation of the abstracts (15-20 minutes).

3. The abstracts and review papers will have to reach them by the end of February 2001 so that they will have it printed and ready to be distributed at the time of the meeting.

4. The size of the delegation will be limited due to budgetary and other considerations, and the participants to receive the entry visa will have to be selected on the basis of quality as well as the subject of individual abstract, as it relates to the health needs they perceive to exist in the DPRK. Admittedly, a vague and nebulous criteria, but Dr. Choe agreed to have sufficient input from the U.S. delegation on this matter next year.

Other Activities: The Committee, the Ministry, the Association, all had been very accommodating to our needs; we were regarded as their guests, thus the Hotel, meals, group transportation were provided to us free of charge. We, at the end of our stay, "voluntarily" collected US $300 per person and presented the money to the Committee to help defray the cost of having us (I doubt that this kind of generosity from the part of DPRK will continue). All of us who had requested the family reunion had their wishes fulfilled, except two of us whose family members were sadly never found (even for them, there was a promise by the Committee that they will continue to look for them). They entertained us with some very excellent cultural events; Pyongyang Circus, May Day Night Dance, Opera: "Sea of Blood(?)" and the usual visits to various spots in the City (not the usual night spots you may think, seen in some of the big cities in America!)

Formation of a Liaison Body: Toward the conclusion of the visit, the Committee Chairman, Mr. Kyung Nam Chon, Min. of Public Health and the Association, all indicated a need for some kind of organizational structure that will coordinate and promote health and medical exchanges between Korean-American physicians and the DPRK; pretty much acting as a liaison body. Dr. Pak suggested the use of the CAMM or KAMA to Chairman Chon at their private meeting (attended also by Dr. Yoon Berm Kim), but Mr. Chon was reluctant to accept either of them as the structure he had in his mind. He also commented on the possibility of placing the body under the aegis of the KANCC but Dr. Pak suggested an independent body maintaining a simple administrative relationship only, as with KANCC the new body might be regarded as a political arm (composed of the physicians) of the KANCC, thus possibly limiting its reach for all the Korean-American physicians. His suggestion was deemed appropriate and was accepted.

The idea was later presented to the 8 member delegation, while in Pyongyang, who unanimously approved the concept of the organization as presented, whereupon Dr. Pak proposed the formation of a committee of the whole to be the initial working council of the body, which might be called "U.S.-DPRK Medical Science Exchange Committee".