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Evans Revere on the North Korea summit

As more and more detail trickles out about the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, many central questions remain surrounded by murk. What will the parameters of the discussion be? What are likely outcomes? Will North Korea really walk back is nuke program? Is a bad deal better than no deal at all?

For this week’s podcast, we spoke with Evans Revere. Revere is one of the most respected and experienced Asia policy veterans in the U.S. We spoke with him about what to expect from the summit — and what risks it brings with it.

About Evans Revere:

Evans Revere is a senior director with the Albright StoneBridge Group and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Formerly, a career diplomat and Senior Foreign Service Officer, Revere was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to this assignment, he was the State Department’s Director for Japanese Affairs, responsible for the day-to-day management of U.S. relations with Japan. During 2000-2003, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea, one of the United States’ largest overseas diplomatic posts. He previously served as Director for Korean Affairs, where he managed relations with both halves of the Korean Peninsula, in addition to serving as the U.S. Government’s primary day-to-day liaison with the North Korean government.

Mr. Revere’s previous assignments have included service as Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand; a Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School; and Special Assistant to the State Department’s Under Secretary for Political Affairs, with responsibility for Asia.

Mr. Revere was Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka, Japan, and served at the U.S. embassies in Tokyo and Beijing. He was also Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs. Mr. Revere worked at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in 1980-1981, handling consular and economic-commercial matters.

Mr. Revere is a three-time winner of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and has received State’s Meritorious Honor Award. He received a commendation from former Secretary of State Albright for his contributions to her October 2000 visit to North and South Korea.

Mr. Revere was born in Brooklyn and raised in New York City. He has an honors degree in East Asian Studies from Princeton University and served as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force during 1969-1972. He speaks fluent Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

He and his wife have two daughters. He enjoys running, golf, tennis, and listening to jazz. Evans is also an avid baseball fan.