대북제재, 북한 경제는?...남북경협 '분수령'
The second North Korea-U.S. summit could be a watershed moment for the North and its economy as it seeks sanctions relief as part of a 'big deal' with the U.S.
Kim Hyesung reports.
International sanctions on North Korea remain a huge stumbling block for Kim Jong-un's ambition to develop the North's domestic economy.
As part of the agenda for the second North Korea-U.S. summit, Pyeongyang has called for an easing of sanctions, and the restarting of Geumgangsan Mountain tourism and the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which have been shut down since 2008 and 2016, respectively.
This was in fact emphasized by Kim Jong-un himself during his 2019 New Year's speech.
The resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex alone could provide 120 million U.S. dollars to the North each year.
The North Korean economy has been hit hard as UN sanctions, led by the U.S., went into to full swing in 2018.
Data by the Korea Development Institute shows North Korea's exports to China, which account for 90 percent of its trade....plunged 87 percent on-year in 2018 due to a fall in exports of resources like coal and iron ore.
Imports from China also dropped 33 percent... and the North had a trade deficit of 2 billion U.S. dollars against China.
Under the latest UN Security Council Resolution, crude exports to Pyeongyang are capped at 4 million barrels a year and refined petroleum products are capped at 500-thousand barrels a year....crippling the North's economy and industrial production... and making sanctions relief key to its economic survival.
Ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit talks, South Korea's finance minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that the government is considering economic cooperation with North Korea in the event that international sanctions are eased.
Be it sanctions relief or some kind of inter-Korean economic cooperation... the stakes are high for the North at the summit in Hanoi.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
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