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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China, Russia Vie Over N.Korean Economic Zone |
| 2014-09-08 |
| The Chinese town of Fangchuan at the mouth of the Duman (or Tumen) River that runs through the border with North Korea overlooks both the North's Rajin-Sonbong region and the Russian town of Khasan. The geography has made the North Korean economic zone a hotly contested piece of land between Beijing and Moscow. North Korea shocked China in 2008 by signing a contract with Russia loaning out a port in Rajin-Sonbong for 50 years, recalls Lee Jong-lim at Yanbian University. "That incident prompted China to take a more aggressive approach in developing the Tumen River region." In 2009, China produced a blueprint for development of the Changchun, Jilin and Tumen regions along the border with North Korea. "This plan shows that China was not going to wait for multilateral cooperation with South Korea and Russia but take the lead in investing in the region to gain an advantage." South Korea In 2010, China gained the right to use three ports in the Rajin-Sonbong region and in 2011 it built a freeway linking Hunchun and Rajin port. Beijing also agreed with Pyongyang to build a bridge connecting Hunchun and the North across the Tumen River. Construction of the bridge is reportedly still underway. Not to be outdone, Russia has decided to include the Tumen River region in a $23 billion plan to develop its far eastern provinces. And in September last year, Russia repaired an old railway linking Khasan and Rajin-Sonbong. Sung Ki-young at the Korea Institute for National Unification said, "North Korea bolstered economic ties with China after sanctions imposed by Seoul, but then cooperation with China came to a standstill" following the execution of former eminence grise Jang Song-taek, "so Pyongyang stepped up cooperation with Moscow." North Korea is trying to trigger competition between the two big powers. Sung said South Korea too should look into ways of taking part in Tumen River development projects, not only for economic reasons but for political ones as well. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 Sure, itn like a black hole has gravity, |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-09-08 21:03 |
| #3 ...North Korea has an economic zone? Who knew. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2014-09-08 15:57 |
| #2 South Korea Given it once was and given the contemporary Chinese pop culture to recover 'historical' influence, it's a good bet. That leaves Seoul a choice between having the Norks or the Chinese (several hundred miles further south than desired) as neighbors. The latter they'd end up with one way or another. The real question is what is better for the people in 'North Korea' (aka Goguryeo, vassal state to the Heavenly Kingdom). |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-09-08 08:01 |
| #1 Don't forget Moscow's new rapprochement wid MONGOLIA, which has also irked China. OTOH, in the long-run it will come down to China still being able to expand its share of the NOKOR economy, hence to dominate or control NOKOR. I again remind that China is unlikely to allow any NOKOR-SOKOR reunification to take place unless it formally + permanently gets back Taiwan. China wants overseas "sole" PLA Milbases - iff it doesn't get them diplomatically peacefully it will get them forcibly. ITS GREATEST SINGLE ADVANTAGE OVER THE MILTECH-SUPERIOR OR DOMINANT USA LIES IN THE LATTER HAVING A OWG GLOBALIST SUCH AS POTUS OBAMA IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Globalist Obama is #1 at the top of the National Command Authority [NCA], hence is the Political Personage-Leader most responsible for America's direct military response agz any Threat, or for Amerika's lack of same. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-09-08 00:28 |