April 12th, 2013 at 5:23 am » Comments (5)

I have seen so many of these North Korean provocation cycles now that the economic damage to the South caused by them just seems implied any more, but Tom Coyner gives everyone an important reminder in the Joong Ang Ilbo of the economic warfare angle of these North Korean provocations: Even while working in Bangkok I found myself being asked by journalists, diplomats and others what in blazes (pun intended) is happening in Korea. Is war eminent? Do you worry about your family’s safety in Seoul? And so on .?.?.
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March 30th, 2013 at 3:49 am » Comments (23)

Despite the fact the Chinese economy and military spending is expected to surpass the US within the next 15 years Geoff Dyer over at Foregin Policy believes it does not mean that China will surpass the US in global leadership though: “It’s over for America,” a Chinese academic told me in late 2008, two days after Goldman Sachs turned itself into a commercial bank in order to fend off possible collapse. “From here on, it’s all downhill.” Sitting in Beijing as American capitalism seemed to be hanging by a thread,
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February 5th, 2013 at 7:15 am » Comments (4)

It will be interesting to see over the next year what effect the rising won will have on the Korean economy: A SURGING won and waning yen are eroding the bottom lines of South Korea’s export powerhouses, which are feeling the pinch after years of gobbling up global market share from their Japanese rivals. The South Korean currency has soared 27 per cent against the yen since the beginning of 2012, as anticipation of monetary easing promised by Japan’s new leader Shinzo Abe weakened the yen across the board. And
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January 14th, 2013 at 7:39 pm » Comments (1)

Via the Korea Economic Reader that is what the German Der Spiegel is report is saying: Pyongyang may be preparing to open up its economy. A report in a prominent newspaper claims the regime has enlisted the aid of German economic and legal experts to lay the groundwork for foreign investment in North Korean companies. The move could be made as soon as this year. On New Year’s Day, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a “radical” economic renewal for his country and an end to decades of
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November 16th, 2012 at 6:23 pm » Comments (2)

It will be interesting to see if any companies are going to rush and invest in these North Korean economic zones?  If the past is any indication these will not be good investments, but they always seem to find someone willing to waste their money: A South Korean civic group says North Korea will designate six additional special economic zones and announce economic reform plans in mid-January of next year. Quoting sources in North Korea, the South-North Forum said on Friday that the six special zones will include Sinuiju-Daegye Island,
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November 6th, 2012 at 6:59 pm » Comments (1)

It looks like a lot of people South Korea are still living Gangnam Style according to this report: One of latest marketing trends in Korea is in catering to the “top 1 per cent” customers. It comes upon a deepening polarisation in consumer spending. It is not unusual for the richest 1 per cent of customers to dominate a company’s overall sales. Firms in various sectors are rushing to launch marketing drives to woo what they call very, very important persons, or VVIPs, who usually make up 0.5 per cent
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September 14th, 2012 at 5:47 pm » Comments (24)

The US credit rating was downgraded by S&P last year while this year South Korea has received an upgrade:  Global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said Friday that it has upgraded its sovereign credit rating for South Korea by one notch, citing reduced geopolitical risks stemming from North Korea. According to an e-mailed statement, S&P raised Korea’s credit rating from “A” to “A plus,” the fifth-highest level on its rating grade, and maintained its rating outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy at “stable.” It is the first upgrade by S&P
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September 14th, 2012 at 3:31 am » Comments (8)

So says the Pentagon: China’s holdings of more than $1 trillion in U.S. debt and the prospect that it might “suddenly and significantly” withdraw funds don’t pose a national security threat, according to a first-ever Pentagon assessment. “China has few attractive options for investing the bulk of its large foreign exchange holdings out of U.S. Treasury securities,” given their extent, according to the report dated July 20 and obtained by Bloomberg News. China is the second-largest holder of U.S. government debtafter the Federal Reserve. Acting at the direction of Congress, the Defense Department studied the rationale
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August 17th, 2012 at 6:04 pm » Comments (8)

The slow motion integration of North Korea into China continues: Pyongyang and Beijing reached a consensus to launch full-fledged development in joint economic zones, viewed as an attempt at a market economy in that specific region. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency yesterday reported the result of the so-called “meeting of the DPRK-China cooperation committee for the third joint development of Hwanggumpyong and Rason districts,” where Jang Song-thaek, uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attended with his counterpart Chen Deming of the Ministry of Commerce and other Chinese
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July 9th, 2012 at 5:31 am » Comments (13)

Via the Open Thread comes this report that North Korea actually saw a little bit of economic growth last year due to its growing economic ties with China: The North Korean economy is undergoing changes. In fact, last year there was actually some growth, with GDP increasing .8 percent, versus a .5 percent decline in 2010. The North Korea GDP (about $28 billion, compared to $1,100 billion for South Korea). Thus even with a larger population, the average South Korean has 20 times more income as their northern counterparts. Moreover,
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