Posted on 06/08/2018 3:57:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The East Germans at least had the advantage of some exposure to the West. The Norks however have been living in just about complete isolation from the outside.
I’ve often wondered about these ‘ghost cities” that China has built and the use of them.
I was going to say the Syrian ‘refugees’ could be sent there, since the Europeans are finally starting to getting sick of them. But no. I wouldn’t even wish that Trojan Horse onto China.
Great analogy. The NORKS have generations of deprivation. You just cannot 'turn on' a stunted people.
Too ambitious. I think they'd be thrilled to climb to the Venezuela rung.
They hustle - like Americans used to
“I have heard about people so hungry that they ate tree bark and grass, just like the livestock does. People stunted in both physical and mental growth.”
They suffered a lot from famine under this guy’s father (Kim Jong Il). When this guy (Kim Jong Un) took over four years ago, he made very successful agricultural reforms (basically allowed farm families to sharecrop). There is a lot more food for most everyone now. He has been expanding more profit-sharing incentives to other industries, especially in the last year. He views himself as a reformer, focused on raising the standard of living.
The first two Kims were educated by communists (Kim Il Sung in the Soviet Union, Kim Jong Il in China) but this Kim went to school in Switzerland, speaks English, and played in his High School theater’s production of Grease. He loves American music and basketball, and considers Dennis Rodman a close friend.
North Koreans have been allowed to work for some South Korean companies in some special industrial parks near the DMZ. They have earned a reputation as the hardest working employees you could hope for. North Korea also has a load of undeveloped mineral wealth, a lot of coastline and a border directly with Russia, as well as China.
Not only could South Korea move in rapidly with some world class investment, technology and expertise; but President Trump is bringing the world’s biggest and most advanced economy (the USA) and the most advanced economy in Asia (Japan) along; as well as American-dominated International resources like the IMF, as potential sweeteners. It is the absolute best dream team that a North Korea wanting development could hope for.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe has been in constant contact with President Trump and the South Korean President about this deal. He was in the White House today, before the President and he went to the G-7 meeting. He made a public commitment that Japan was ready to support North Korean development (in exchange for the return of abductees, and dismantling of the ballistic missile threat). That lays a big bargaining chip on the table.
There are some huge incentives on the table for the North Koreans. They have never before been offered such a good deal, and might not ever again, if Trump and Moon (in S. Korea) are no longer in office.
This is a very thorough and helpful analysis. Much I didn’t know.
If NOKO plays its cards right it will be sitting at the table of plenty.
Miracles happen.
ya, I’m well aware, but it hadn’t been reduced to starvation and ruin like NK.
I was a photo nut back in the day. When the first Chinese trade ship entered Eliot bay in Seattle, a friend of mine and I went to magnolia bluff and took tons of pictures of it on its way in.
Kinda funny. Before that day, there were no Chinese goods in the US. I can tell you that our standard of living has drasticaly increased since then regarding goods bought from China. And those industries have collapsed in the US.
We didn’t realize just how historic that event was.
BTW, that was around 1980.
I believe South Korea has the biggest Christian churches in the world. The norks don’t have any, though.
Thing is, pre-and post-natal care matter. The current population of NK is stunted mentally and physically. They really will not be able to compete until they produce a “clean” generation. They’re kinda like the citizenry of so many African countries. You could clean them up and send them to school, and there is just not enough “raw material” there to really bring them up to the equivalent of the populations of the world that were properly fed in their early years.
The Saudis built a nice big mosque on a hill in Seoul before I got there, but I don’t think the congregation is that big. Probably used by the Muslim embassies staff.
I agree, but when they came here that had a dynamic business community to step into - there they are building from scratch. The advantage they will have is the US CHINA SK and Japan will put in a lot of cash
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>> “Could North Korea Become the Next Singapore?” <<
NO!
Singapore is tropical, Korea is an icebox.
Only in the winter. Korea can get hot in the summer.
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