(Cancelled) North Korea – An Unforgettable Adventure with Katharina Zellweger

Resource Person

Katharina Zellweger manages KorAid Limited, an NGO which she established in 2015, based in Hong Kong, to focus on serving children in institutions and people with disabilities in North Korea and in China. KorAid has further potential for engagement in additional projects in these countries.

Zellweger brings over 30 years of field experience as a senior aid manager in Hong Kong, China and North Korea to this undertaking.  She was based in Pyongyang for five years (2006-2011) as the North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), an office of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  At SDC her work focused on sustainable agricultural production to address food security issues, income generation to improve people’s livelihoods, and capacity development to contribute to individual and institutional learning. Before joining SDC, from 1978 to 2006, Zellweger worked in a senior capacity at Caritas-Hong Kong, a Catholic agency, playing a key role in pioneering the Caritas involvement in China and in North Korea.

Zellweger is currently also a North Korea Program Affiliate/Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University in California. She is an expert and frequent presenter on the current situation of the North Korean people, giving talks to audiences in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. She has also made significant contributions to the field through her participation in workshops, seminars, and conferences concerning both humanitarian and security issues on the Korean peninsula, most specifically regarding North Korea. Moreover, from time to time she accompanies exclusive tours to North and South Korea.