With that hit to Pyongyang’s already shaky finances gone, at least for now, here’s a look at the North’s economy and the external sources of income it maintains despite a raft of heavy worldwide sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missiles program.
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The idea of a Trans-Korean railway crossing that is linked to the Trans-Siberian was first mooted in the late 19 century, but plans were suspended after the 1905 Russia-Japan War.
Moon said the South Korean military was preparing for a possibility that the DPRK may re- deploy armed forces to the now- emptied Kaesong factory park, noting that no special moves of DPRK forces around Kaesong have been detected yet. The political project was only partially realized and gave no substantial profits.
“In a way, it’s a miracle it lasted that long”, said Leonid Petrov, an expert on North Korea at the Australian National University.
The U.S. and South Korea will hold talks next week on deploying an advanced missile defense system in response to North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests, a Seoul defense official confirmed.
The discussions would focus on placing one Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit with the USA military in South Korea after the North’s launch last weekend, a South Korean defence official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea added in its statement that Seoul “will experience the disastrous and painful consequences of its actions”. That’s why there are concerns that the process may drag on for months, as was the case in Iran’s nuclear deal, especially with no clear word on whether China, North Korea’s closest ally, is on board yet for the strongest sanctions to date.
The joint factory park area is a militarily important location for North Korea, which directly leads to South Korea’s capital Seoul and adjacent areas.
South Korea had been using a facility it built at a reservoir near the park to pump about 17,000 tons of water into Kaesong every day, according to an official at the South’s state-run water management company who didn’t want to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters. A few minutes before midnight, the South shut off the supply of electricity into Kaesong that powered the factory zone, the ministry said early on Friday.
The hotlines themselves have never been used for conversational diplomacy, but they were key to setting up meetings where such discussions could take place.
Chang Beom Kang, who has been running an apparel company in Kaesong since 2009, said from South Korea that his company has about 920 North Korean workers – who didn’t show up on Thursday – and seven South Korean managers at Kaesong.
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Tours to the North’s scenic Diamond Mountain by South Koreans were popular for about a decade until 2008, when they were halted after a North Korean guard fatally shot a South Korean woman.
