Exactly what I’ve been talking about. A return on the investment. Funneling money into KJI’s pocket is unlikely to have the desired effect of promoting unification or helping North Korean people.

captbbq,

That’s the first cogent argument I’ve heard for funneling money into NK, assuming that South Korea can throw enough money and build enough Kaesongs to lay claim.

As such, the next Kaesong-type zone should be a 5-mile stretch of North Korea as it borders China.

Let’s hope that Lee Myung-Bak is as pragmatic as many think he will be and will pursue a strategy that gets some return on the massive amounts of ROK’s taxpayers’ money being shoveled across the border.

In hind site of this, it would be better to feed a few babies in North Korea, those babies (unfortunately) not being human but metaphors for south Korean investments that will pay off by being little pockets of justification for South Korea to lay some sort of weak claim of right to help administer the country when it eventually does fail due to good old incompetence.

Pouring billions blindly into KJI’s pockets hardly guarantees that reunification will be smooth. All these economic projects sound great, but I can’t help thinking that they will be a convenient way to funnel cash to KJI and his cronies without really helping the average North Korean out in any way (and in fact hurting them as KJI will then be able to more effectively finance the stamping out of dissent). It’s like pouring cash into a black hole and hoping that something good comes out of it. Why not expect to see real reforms to accompany all the free cash?

Those numbers were just tossed off the top of my head, but the point is there. Kim will not reform the economy in any meaningful way.

Aid is nice, but I am for being vigilant to make sure aid gets where it needs to go and ending the regime as soon as possible.

Well, it is a chance for a better future for both Koreas. So what that it cost a few billions of dollars? In the bigger picture of things, it is worth it.

Even if KJI doesn’t reform his economy overnight, these economic agreements will still bringing in money into the hands of the poor people of NK(though, some of it will most likely goes to the government, but still better than nothing)

That’s the theory, anyway. Never mind that KJI is not interested in reforming his economy, only to have a few economic zones and other projects funneling money to him directly, while the rest of the country remains sealed off and as isolated as possible. If he actually began to reform the economy, he’d be dead meat. So this summit is little more than a chance to offer billions while he promises little in return other than platitudes.

By stressing economic co-operation, I think SK wants NK to move away from the planned economic system to embrace the market economy (free economy).

Currently, if reunification were to occur, it would be a HUGE financial and social burden on SK with the influx of immigrants, most of whom will be unskilled. Also, SK would have to build new infrastructure, educate the masses on the capitalist system, educate the masses on basic skills taken granted by the developed world, etc. etc. basically spending trillions of dollars. (Like what happened when the Berlin Wall fell- only way more)

So, by encouraging economic development through aid and economic co-operation, SK is making sure reunification becomes a smooth transition.

Nevermind the fact that this argument doesn’t make any sense. It’s like saying you can’t regularly meet your nonexistent friend because he doesn’t exist, so instead you’ll only meet your nonexistent friend occasionally.