New Solutions for International Cooperation with North Korea

normal member of the world economy through economic reforms and open-door policies.

4. New Solutions for International Cooperation with North Korea

Unless North Korean reforms and open-door policies become a prerequisite, full-scale international cooperation will not easily be put into effect. But economic assistance in accordance with the denuclearization of North Korea and financial aid carried out in the spirit of humanitarian aid are both currently being provided. Even in this case there are no full-scale aid programs that are being exe-

cuted, and only various forms of financial aid from numerous international NGOs and food support being supplied as urgent relief by the World Food Program (WFP). Under these circum- stances, it can be said that arranging a new framework that pro- motes North Korean reforms and open-door policies while improv- ing the quality of life of the North Korean population is imperative.

First, it must be noted that North Korea has an economic partner South Korea that has achieved unprecedented economic growth worldwide. The help of South Korea is pivotal for the economic revitalization of North Korea, and in order for the provision of greater levels of financial aid and economic assistance from the international society to become more feasible South Korea must provide guarantees towards that end. From this standpoint, devel- oping the bordering area of Shinuiju with a trilateral cooperation model that involves the two Koreas and China might be introduced as a new idea. Another trilateral model that can be proposed involves the two Koreas and Russia executing the renovation of North Korean railways and the modernization of the port of Najin.

These different forms of development models can be expected to not only have practical effects on the reconstruction of the North Korean economy but also may lessen North Korean fears of subor- dination to South Korea. In other words, by proposing trilateral cooperation models that involve neighboring countries and states with interests on several levels, the problems that arise from only bilateral cooperation can be solved.

Second, there is a need to consider ways to reorganize the pre- existing frameworks of international cooperation that deal with North Korea. That is to say, with the foundation created by the working group on energy in the Six Party Talks, propelling region- al development programs such as the Tumen River Area Develop- ment Programme (TRADP) that were proposed during the early

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1990s can be discussed as a feasible alternative plan. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has tried in the past to propel the regional development programs by dividing bordering states and non-bordering states through the TRADP. Therefore, there is a need to design a comprehensive framework for the development of the North Korean economy by organizing a North Korean development group that consists of the directly affected states of South Korea, the US, Japan, China, and Russia. This framework may be reinforced by inviting states, such as those in the EU, that have experienced working on economic cooperation issues with North Korea, perhaps building on the lessons learned from KEDO. This organization could play the role of not only expanding the economic support of the current working group on energy, but also preparing an overall blueprint for the develop- ment of North Korea. Here, preparing a comprehensive frame- work that can fully utilize the abundance of North Korean experts that have sprung up since the end of the cold-war is important.

Finally, in relation to the reinvigoration of international cooper- ation focused on North Korean issues, it must be noted that a more in-depth understanding of North Korea’s strategic importance as well as a search to find a future-oriented growth model is neces- sary. North Korea, faced with the threat of survival that arose since the end of the Cold War, is looking to preserve its political system by possessing nuclear capabilities. The negative perception that it has derived from these actions has prevented the international community from acknowledging the economic importance of North Korea. In other words, even though the international society understands the strategic importance of North Korea from the standpoint of military and security issues, it is taking the geopoliti- cal value of North Korea lightly. Therefore in order for internation- al cooperation to be fully functional, North Korea not only has to

actively work towards reforming itself and adopting open-door policies, but it should also inform the world that it is willing to engage in various economic cooperation projects that utilize the geopolitical importance of North Korea within Northeast Asia.

1 – KOTRA, “Trends of North Korean foreign trade 2007,” KOTRA data 08- 015 (2008).

2 – 2002.9.17 2002 Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration.

3 – <http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/572/07/PDF/

N0657207.pdf?OpenElement> Resolution 1718, Adopted by the Securi- ty Council at its 5551st Meeting, October 14, 2006.

4 – Atlantic Council, U.S-North Korea Relations: An Analytic Compendium of U.S. Policies, Laws & Regulations (Washington D.C.: The Atlantic Council of the United States, 2007).

5 – <www.kedo.org>.

6 – <www.imf.org>. IMF Member’s Quotas and Voting Power, and IMF Board of Governors. Last Updated: June 20, 2008.

7 – <www.worldbank.org>. Basic Facts; IBRD Articles of Agreement:

Membership in and Capital of the Bank.

Notes