Russia Returns to North Korea: Trade and Economic Cooperation Yesterday and Today. Potential Development Opportunities
Abstract
At the time of cooperation with the USSR, North Korea was one of its major economic partners in Northeast Asia due to the use of multiple subsidized loans provided by the Soviet Union. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 had the most severe repercussions in Asia on North Korea and Mongolia. Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-il tried to maintain economic ties, but his sudden death in 2011 appeared to conclusively terminate relations with post-Soviet Russia in favor of China. In the context of US sanctions, the Russian leadership initiated a rapprochement with North Korea, now led by Kim Jong-un.
Aim. The presented study aims to examine the conditions, prerequisites, and opportunities for the transition from stagnation towards the development of economic relations between Russia and North Korea.
Tasks. The authors assess the readiness of the two countries for the development of large-scale cooperation.
Methods. This study uses scientific methods of cognition to examine the experience of foreign relations between large and small countries, decisions of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation between North Korea and Russia, and publications on the subject of this study.
Results. By building upon the experience of trade and economic cooperation during the Soviet era and establishing a political dialogue between V.V. Putin and Kim Jong-un, Russia can return to North Korea and guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Conclusions. Returning to North Korea will strengthen the military and political alliance between Russia and China, reducing the US military threat on the eastern borders of the Russian Federation.
About the Authors
Marina E. Trigubenko
Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Nakhimovskiy Ave 32, Moscow, 117218
Kuok Hung Nguyen
Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Nakhimovskiy Ave 32, Moscow, 117218
References
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Review
For citations:
Trigubenko M.E., Nguyen K.H. Russia Returns to North Korea: Trade and Economic Cooperation Yesterday and Today. Potential Development Opportunities. Economics and Management. 2019;(5):28-33. (In Russ.)
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