A talk on Thursday by a refugee from North Korea who is now a U.S. citizen will launch the new Institute for Korean studies at the University of Missouri.

The co-directors of the new institute are C. Harrison Kim, MU assistant professor of history, and Sheena Greitens, assistant professor of political science. Greitens also is the wife of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

"There has been close to two decades of research and studies related to Korea" at MU, Kim said. "There's strong historical ties between Korea and MU. The Institute for Korean Studies will be fostering research and supporting new research related to Korea."

Kim said that includes both South Korea and North Korea. He acknowledged there is a keen interest in North Korea.

He said though there had been a history of academic research on Korea at MU, the creation of the institute required a stable and willing group of faculty members, which had not come together to establish a research institute until recently.