# Is a unified Korea a lost cause? Justice Michael Kirby has hope

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/global-roaming-with-geraldine-doogue-and-hamish-macdonald-6755533/is-a-unified-korea-a-lost-cause-justice-michael-kirby-has-hope
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/global-roaming-with-geraldine-doogue-and-hamish-macdonald-6755533/is-a-unified-korea-a-lost-cause-justice-michael-kirby-has-hope.md
Podcast: [Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald](https://stenobird.com/podcast/global-roaming-with-geraldine-doogue-and-hamish-macdonald-6755533)
Published: 2026-08-20T01:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/global-roaming/is-a-unified-korea-a-lost-cause-justice-michael-kirby-has-hope/106983290
Audio file: https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/nm/Z/5q.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/global-roaming-with-geraldine-doogue-and-hamish-macdonald-6755533/episodes/is-a-unified-korea-a-lost-cause-justice-michael-kirby-has-hope
Duration seconds: 1744

## Resource

How do you begin mending one of the most destructive political divides in modern history? That is the challenge that former High Court of Australia justice Michael Kirby faced when he led a UN inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea in 2013. Despite being confronted with brutal repression and repeated failures of negotiation, Kirby remains hopeful that progress can be made, and that the United Nations has an irreplaceable role in facilitating communication between either side of the Korean DMZ. In this first part of an expansive two-part episode, Hamish Macdonald and Waleed Aly join Justice Michael Kirby to discuss his history in international governance, his impressions of leaders like Donald Trump and George W. Bush, and how nuclear weapons have completely changed the future of the region. Plus: how a very stern teacher and his cane gave Michael his first taste of injustice. Guest: Michael Kirby AC, former justice of the High Court of Australia Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au

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## Transcript

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