Major disaster could open door to N. Korea talks, Japanese disaster expert says

A major natural disaster in North Korea could create an opening for humanitarian engagement with the isolated regime, Yuichi Ono said during a meeting with South Korean reporters in Japan on Oct. 23. The Tohoku University professor said the U.N. had discussed whether a disaster could prompt North Korea to open its doors and argued that groundwork should be laid in advance. He cited Myanmar and Indonesia’s Aceh province as places where disasters helped restore relations. Ono said North Korea stopped communicating with the Typhoon Committee after Kim Jong-un came to power, but he did not rule out renewed contact.

Ono served in the Disaster Risk Reduction Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific from 2009 to 2012.

The ESCAP/World Meteorological Organization Typhoon Committee was established in 1968 and has 14 members, including North Korea, South Korea and Japan.

Ono said North Korean delegates did not attend committee meetings hosted in Japan or South Korea but attended conferences in China or Vietnam.

North Korean hydrology experts presented on disaster management at committee sessions, although North Korean officials mostly listened without speaking.

Ono cited the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, in which more than 100,000 people died in Aceh, as an example of a disaster that helped rebuild ties.

Published Nov 2, 2026 2:50 pm KST

North Koreans are seen at a flooded village in Anju, South Pyongan Province, July 30, 2012, in this picture released by North Korea's official news agency KCNA. Reuters-Yonhap

Yuichi Ono, professor at Tohoku University and deputy director of International Research Institute of Disaster Science / Courtesy of Tohoku University

A major natural disaster in North Korea could create an opening for engagement with the isolated regime through humanitarian aid, according to a Japanese disaster expert who once coordinated with North Korean officials at the United Nations. He noted that the U.N. had discussed such an approach and that disasters have helped thaw relations elsewhere.

“In the event of a major disaster in North Korea, neighboring countries — including China, South Korea, Russia and Japan — could potentially provide humanitarian assistance,” Yuichi Ono, professor at Tohoku University and deputy director of International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), said during a meeting with South Korean reporters visiting Japan as part of a South Korea-Japan journalists’ exchange program on Oct. 23, according to the joint press corps.

He said the idea has been raised within the U.N. itself.

“We actually discussed within the U.N. whether a major disaster might serve as a catalyst for the country to open its doors,” he said. “Statistically speaking, it’s only a matter of time before North Korea is hit by a massive typhoon. I thought that some groundwork needed to be laid in advance.”

He pointed to past cases in which disasters became turning points for restoring relations, including Myanmar and Indonesia’s Aceh province following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

“Myanmar is one such case, as is Aceh in Indonesia. More than 100,000 people lost their lives in Aceh during the tsunami off Sumatra. Aceh was fighting an independence movement at the time, keeping the region isolated, and foreigners were barred from entering. Yet even there, the disaster served as a turning point to rebuild ties and restore relations,” he said.

The remarks came after North Korea closed its doors to South Korea, declaring the two Koreas “the most hostile states” in late 2023 and abandoning the “provisional special relationship” framework that had governed inter-Korean ties since 1991. Over the last few years, the South Korean government has struggled to maintain engagement with North Korea, while Pyongyang has accelerated cooperation with China and Russia, and built so-called border fortifications on their side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.

Ono’s perspective is rooted in his experience. He served as a U.N. official in the Disaster Risk Reduction Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) between 2009 and 2012, where he was one of the few Japanese officials who frequently coordinated with North Korea for meetings of the ESCAP/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee. Established in 1968, the intergovernmental body works to strengthen regional efforts for reducing loss of life and damage from typhoons. North Korea, South Korea and Japan are among its 14 members.

According to Ono, North Korea’s participation in the committee followed a pattern.

“When international meetings were held in Japan or South Korea, North Korea did not send delegates. But when those conferences were hosted in China or Vietnam, North Korean representatives showed up,” he said.

North Korean officials mostly listened without speaking during the sessions, he added, though the country’s hydrology experts did deliver a presentation on disaster management to fellow members.

Pyongyang stopped communicating with the committee after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came to power, though Ono did not rule out the possibility that the door could reopen.

小野雄一10月23日在日本会见韩国记者时表示，朝鲜发生重大自然灾害可能会为与这个孤立政权开展人道主义接触创造契机。这位东北大学教授表示，联合国曾讨论过灾难是否能促使朝鲜敞开大门，并强调应事先做好准备工作。他以缅甸和印尼亚齐省为例，指出灾难有助于两国​​关系的修复。小野表示，金正恩上台后，朝鲜停止了与台风委员会的沟通，但他并未排除未来恢复联系的可能性。

2009 年至 2012 年，小野在联合国亚洲及太平洋经济社会委员会减少灾害风险司任职。

亚太经社会/世界气象组织台风委员会成立于1968年，共有14个成员，包括朝鲜、韩国和日本。

小野表示，朝鲜代表没有参加在日本或韩国举行的委员会会议，而是参加了在中国或越南举行的会议。

朝鲜水文专家在委员会会议上介绍了灾害管理情况，但朝鲜官员大多只是听而不发言。

小野以 2004 年印度洋地震和海啸为例，这场灾难导致亚齐省 10 万人丧生，并指出灾难有助于重建两国关系。

发布于2026年11月2日下午2:50（韩国标准时间）

2012年7月30日，朝鲜民众在平安南道安州市一个被洪水淹没的村庄里。这张照片由朝鲜官方通讯社朝中社发布。路透社-韩联社

小野雄一，东北大学教授、国际灾害科学研究所副所长 / 图片由东北大学提供

一位曾在联合国与朝鲜官员协调工作的日本灾害专家表示，朝鲜发生重大自然灾害可能会为通过人道主义援助与这个孤立政权接触创造契机。他指出，联合国曾讨论过这种做法，而且灾害在其他地方也曾帮助缓和关系。

据韩日联合记者团报道，东北大学教授、国际灾害科学研究所（IRIDeS）副所长小野雄一在10月23日与参加韩日记者交流项目的韩国记者会面时表示：“如果朝鲜发生重大灾害，包括中国、韩国、俄罗斯和日本在内的邻国可能会提供人道主义援助。”

他说，联合国内部也曾有人提出过这个想法。

他说：“我们曾在联合国内部讨论过，一场重大灾难是否能成为朝鲜开放国门的契机。从统计数据来看，朝鲜遭受特大台风袭击只是时间问题。我认为有必要事先做一些准备工作。”

他指出，过去的一些案例表明，灾难成为了恢复关系的转折点，例如2004年印度洋地震后缅甸和印度尼西亚亚齐省之间的关系。

“缅甸就是这样的例子，印尼的亚齐也是如此。苏门答腊海啸期间，亚齐有超过10万人丧生。当时亚齐正处于独立运动时期，该地区与世隔绝，外国人被禁止入境。然而，即便在那里，这场灾难也成为了重建联系、恢复关系的转折点，”他说道。

此前，朝鲜关闭了对韩国的大门，宣布朝韩两国在2023年底成为“最敌对国家”，并放弃了自1991年以来一直维系朝韩关系的“临时特殊关系”框架。过去几年，韩国政府一直在努力维持与朝鲜的接触，而平壤则加快了与中国和俄罗斯的合作，并在分隔朝韩的非军事区朝鲜一侧修建了所谓的边境防御工事。

小野的观点源于他自身的经历。2009年至2012年，他曾在联合国亚洲及太平洋经济社会委员会（亚太经社会）减少灾害风险司担任联合国官员，是少数几位经常与朝鲜协调参加亚太经社会/世界气象组织（WMO）台风委员会会议的日本官员之一。该政府间机构成立于1968年，致力于加强区域合作，减少台风造成的生命损失和财产损失。朝鲜、韩国和日本是其14个成员国之一。

据小野洋子称，朝鲜参与该委员会遵循一定的模式。

他说：“当国际会议在日本或韩国举行时，朝鲜没有派代表参加。但当这些会议在中国或越南举行时，朝鲜代表就会出席。”

他还补充说，朝鲜官员在会议期间大多只是听而不发言，不过该国的水文专家确实向其他成员作了关于灾害管理的报告。

朝鲜领导人金正恩上台后，平壤停止了与该委员会的沟通，但小野洋子并未排除重新开启沟通渠道的可能性。