Posted on 06/26/2018 11:27:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Legendary investor Jim Rogers believes that unification would bring great prosperity for Korea but it would be a nightmare for Japan, which has shown a lukewarm attitude toward the South Korean and U.S. decision to halt joint military exercises.
"Japanese companies want to invest in North Korea but Japan is against it because Japan cannot compete with a united Korea," Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, said in a recent interview with The Korea Times at his residence in Singapore after the June 12 summit.
The 75-year-old multimillionaire investor thinks that the two Koreas can create great synergy by just combining each other's strengths.
"A united Korea has 80 million people on the Chinese border, lots of cheap, disciplined, educated labor, huge natural resources, lots of capital, and lots of expertise," he said.
"Japan has declining population and huge internal debt but they don't have cheap labor anymore so Japan doesn't want unification. Japan would do everything it can to fight it. They would use every excuse"
The Singapore-based investor thinks that although there are pros and cons, other great powers surrounding the peninsula, such as China and the U.S., would benefit from unification.
"The Chinese would like it because it would get rid of American troops," he said.
"America doesn't have to spend money on troops anymore. I'm an American taxpayer. I don't like paying for 30,000 troops in Korea every year," he added. "The war has been over for 65 years. Why are we still occupying Korea?"(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at koreatimes.co.kr ...
I have to agree with Jim.
How much infrastructure has to be built in North Korea? (electrification, etc.)
So Jim Rogers who I have a lot of respect for wants that Psychopath Kim_Jong_UN to be the ruler of a United Korea eh?
That $40 trillion dollars in minerals will pay for a lot of power plants and wiring.
True. But it does take time.
I have read and re-read the article again and I have no idea where you got that from.
They built Dubai in record time with money flowing freely.
Sounds like he is pandering to a Korean audience in this interview - South and North.
Not for a looooong time to come. It’s going to take a minimum of 20 years, if not more, for the ROK to bring the DPRK zone up to the same level as the South in terms of infrastructure, housing, health care, and industry. Look at how long it took a reunited Germany to get the East up to speed. It’s going to be ten times worse for Korea — not even taking into consideration that a good percentage of the population is full gonzo NUTS.
Someday, they might cause Japan to worry. But it won’t be in my lifetime, that’s for sure.
He’s right though. Look at what South Korea has been able to accomplish since being destroyed with little to no natural resources.
The article also mentions the savings to their economies by not having to support two huge standing armies. That there will put a lot more people in the work force.
Politically it will be difficult trying to mainstream a large brainwashed population such as NK has into the 21st century and that will cause a lot of strife and will probably be the most difficult part of reunification. Unlike the East Germans, who had a very good idea of what things were like on the other side, the NK populations is still largely brainwashed.
The article also mentions that Russia and China are already working on building the infrastructure up in NK as they are both anticipating a major change in NK. Between the SK, China and Russia I don't think it will take as long as you think to to get NK up to par. Russia has a huge source of natural resources that is readily available to NK and they have improved the train tracks going into NK and the Chinese and Russia are already modernizing ports.
It’ll take at least a century for Korea to reunite completely.
L
Unlike West Germany, which had a huge expensive welfare state ready to absorb the East Germans, the South Koreans do not but they don’t need one as both populations are use to not having a nice cushy safety net to take care of their people. A lot of East Germans were content to live off this system but that will not be tolerated in a united Korea. That will be less of a drag right there.
Yes, but Dubai is basically a city. There is a lot of territory in North Korea. Pyongyang will be modernized quite quickly, but outside the capital, there are a lot of smaller cities that will take time to upgrade.
How many contracts will US companies get? That is the question. Will it all be Chinese, Russian and South Korean? There could be some good long-term contracts for US ex-pats.
The Filipinos, Indians and Bangladeshi did much of Dubai.
I’ve got a friend who’s been working different projects in Qatar and Kazakhstan. Technical work. Lots of the grunt work is done by the Filipinos and Indians in the Arab countries.
I’ll tell you where I got that from where he is talking about the cost of keeping our troops in ROK and about how long the they’ve been there etc.
He is openly advocating for a complete pull out of the Korean peninsula to do so would give the North victory and ensure Kim will rule all of Korea with a Iron fist
We’re not pulling out of Korea until Kim is de-fanged and/or they are unified.
Kim will never ever be de-fanged unless he is put six feet under as for unified Korea? The only way the Norks will ever agree to that is unless Kim gets to be the top dog.
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