If the division of the Korean Peninsula were to persist, North Korea’s mineral wealth would end up in China and the foundations for unification would end up depleted, according to Bae Jeong Ho of the Korea Institute for National Unification.
Bae, speaking at an event this afternoon organized by KINU and the National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC), revealed his concerns, saying, “China is focusing its investment in the development of North Korea’s mineral resources as a matter of strategy. If the Kim Jong Eun system persists, with Songun at the forefront while reform and opening are ignored, those resources will leach out into China and get depleted.”
“If North Korea’s mineral resources, a primary corner stone in the supply of unification funding and future Korean Peninsula takeoff, are depleted, North Korea will turn into an empty vessel,” he added, going on, “If our people fear the costs and other immediate changes that would follow unification and so ignore these facts and cannot overcome the limits to growth caused by division, we may see this come to pass.”
Not only that; Bae added that the quality of North Korean labor will deteriorate the longer the division persists, leading a unified Korea to suffer further losses.
“Policy and systemic changes are not taking place, and if financial difficulties persist it will grow hard for young students to even get a primary education,” he pointed out. “Because of the increasing illiteracy rate, the quality of North Korea’s labor force will deteriorate significantly.”
Moreover, “Restrictions to development have inevitably resulted from the division, causing the birth rate to decline and resulting in an aging society. Quantitatively speaking, the shortage of labor will make it difficult for North Korea to maintain its current competitiveness.”
In conclusion, Bae asserted, “We need to stop being afraid of reunification, and to start preparing the finance and policy both strategically and rationally. Only then will we be able to construct a strong and prosperous unified nation.”
