Korea-Russia Economic Cooperation in the Far East
1. Korea Should Consider Russia a Geopolitical Base to Enhance Its Economy (Hong, Wan-suk)
The most distinctive feature of the Putin administration’s foreign policy is its focus on strengthening cooperation with Northeast Asia through the Russian Far Elast, the so-called “New Look East Policy.”
In the mid-19th century, Russia’s Look East Policy was intended to expand the country’s territory through the advancement of the armed forces; however, the 21st century’s “New Look East Policy” is intended to create national wealth. Russia’s three “mega-projects”—building a gas pipeline, railways, and an electrical grid connecting North Korea, South Korea and Russia—must be based on the improvement of North-South relations and mutual trust. Russia’s policy is basically in line with the Trust-building Process on the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asian Peace and Cooperation Initiative launched by the Park Geunhye administration. Looking ahead to the Korea- Russia summit to be held in mid-November, I hope this meeting in Seoul will serve as an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to recognize the benefits they could receive through comprehensive cooperation.
The second summit between President Park and Putin may help the two countries enhance their strategic partnership
2. Shift to Pragmatic Diplomacy: Moscow is Not Going to Invest Billions of Dollars in a High-risk Environment (Andrei Lankov)
The revival of a strong Russia
Russia’s foreign policy will focus on economic factors
3. Korea-Russia Economic Cooperation in the Russian Far East: Large-scale Projects Need Government Support to Succeed (Oh, Young-il)
If one of the South Korea-North Korea-Russia cooperation projects such as building a gas pipeline or railway connecting the three countries were to begin, other projects would follow.
- Source: Special Report, Chindia Plus Quarterly Winter 2013 VOL.13