SPIA Professor Han Park has appeared on CNN three separate times to discuss North Korean politics.

The brewing pot of tensions between North Korea and the United States remains unspilled largely through the peacemaking and humanitarian efforts of University professor of international affairs Han Park.

Park’s lifelong pursuit of peace in North Korea led Morehouse College to award him the prestigious Gandhi, King and Ikeda Community Builders Prize of 2010, which will be officially presented to him this month.

Park’s devotion to bargaining for peace without military conflict between the United States and North Korea reflects the mission of the award — promoting peace through conversation and negotiation. Former recipients include former South African president Nelson Mandela and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

When asked about his initial response following his selection, Park was humble.

“I don’t deserve this. They must have made a mistake. I’m just a college professor,” he said. “I accept with great humility.”

He also said that upon his selection, the United Nations, South Korea and North Korea contacted him with congratulations.

Thomas Lauth, dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, praised Park for his accomplishments.

“He has a unique combination of an academic career that makes him very knowledgeable about Asia and the Korean peninsula,” Lauth said. “At the same time, as an individual, he has a great passion for humanity and peacefulness in the world. His career brings those two strains or traditions together quite successfully.”

During his childhood, Park experienced the war-torn countries of China and Korea firsthand. Born in China but ethnically Korean, he was separated from members of his family when Japan annexed Korea. Inspired by the separation of families during the Korean War in the 1950s, he set out to film documentaries of families who were torn from their relatives. The footage was sent to South Korea from China for broadcast and helped in the process of reunifying the families.

During the Clinton administration, it was Park’s mediation and understanding of Korean affairs that helped prevent the United States from attacking a North Korean nuclear site. Park also readied and briefed former president Jimmy Carter for entrance into the country, which helped prevent a full-fledged nuclear war.

Park advised the United States’ government that once attacked, North Korea would strike back massively.

“I don’t have any hidden agenda,” Park said. “I’m working for a cause.”

In this case, Park’s cause is peace.

Park also facilitated the return of the two American journalists captured in North Korea in 2009. Working to appease both the American and North Korean governments, Park coordinated an American apology by former president Bill Clinton in exchange for the release of the journalists held in North Korea.

Nitya Singh, a graduate student in International Affairs, has worked alongside Park for three years.

“He’s very in tune with the problems and suffering of the people of North Korea,” Singh said. “Coming from a background where he witnessed the Chinese Revolution has influenced him with [what] he wants to do.”

Park began his academic career at the University in 1970 and has since been a professor of Public and International Affairs.

He is also the director of the Center for the Study of Global Issues, known as Globis. In addition, he is an ABC News consultant and has appeared on CNN International.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for today at 11 a.m. in Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel and will be aired in 192 countries.