Apparently, South Korea has offered to repatriate North Korean agents caught in South Korea if North Korea agrees to begin discussions of repatriating South Korean POWs and abductees.
North Korea has reportedly asked for 500,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertilizer.
All of this is par for the course in negotiating with the North Koreans.
What I found interesting was this (from the Korea Times):
Lee also proposed to turn Danchon of South Hamkyong Province in the North into a special zone for joint development of mining resources, as part of efforts to focus investments for cultivating businesses that could benefit both Koreas. The area around Danchon reportedly abounds in resources such as gold and silver as well as zinc and magnetite.
According to Yonhap, Danchon is North Korea’s largest mining area, with mines, smelters and mining-related industrial colleges. Since 2000, the site has apparently been attracting the interest of foreign firms from Britain, the Netherlands, France, Japan and China.
8 Comments
With ore prices going up with no end in sight, it would be a good investment…
…almost anywhere except North Korea.
I’m surprised the South Korean gov’t hasn’t pushed harder before to open Danchon to some inter-Korean labor exploitation as it did in Kaesong, but I doubt KJI will be letting the gold and silver go anytime soon.
Or in Korean, “Buk, ssal 50man t. biryo 30man t. jiwon yocheong”
DPRK is only following the great idea of “jiwon”, developed by Kim Hyong Sik and followed and gloriously developed by his son Kim Il Sung and grandson Kim Jong Il; see for example a KCNA article:
Antti—KCNA is blocked over here, but surely, you’re joking, right?
Yes, I’m joking, but the quote is real. I’m not that versed in writing northkoreanese…
The “jiwon” on KCNA is 志願, not 支援. Another KCNA piece on the father of all fathers and grandfather of all sons
Indeed, “jiwon” is a very important idea in the relations between South and North Korea.
“Aim High” is also a very important idea in the U.S. Air Force
“if North Korea agrees to begin discussions of repatriating South Korean POWs and abductees”
As usual, SK is getting the short end of the stick in its appeasement policies. Or is it? It does seem to be a plan to delay reunification for a long time and who pays for it? The taxpayers, of course. I just keep waiting and wondering what kinds of dividends the South is going to see from this appeasement policy.
Just give appeasement a chance.
“Apparently, South Korea has offered to repatriate North Korean agents caught in South Korea if North Korea agrees to begin discussions of repatriating South Korean POWs and abductees.”
The South Korean government owes the families of those S Korean POWs and abductees nothing less than the full faith and force of their government in getting them out. There is a good chance most of them are dead/murdered, but if even one is still alive, the ROK cannot squander the oportunity.
“As usual, SK is getting the short end of the stick in its appeasement policies.” South Korea is not just getting the short end of the stick, it is asking for the short end.