According to the white paper published by the National Planning and Advisory Committee, which worked as the transition committee for the Moon Jae-in government, last year, the three major economic belts forming an H on the Korean Peninsula are at the center of the new economic map.
In the east, North and South Korea are to jointly develop Mount Kumgang, Wonsan, Tanchon, Chongjin and Rason and create the East Sea Energy & Resources Belt, linking South Korea's east coast with Russia. To the west, the West Coast Industrial, Logistics & Transportation Belt links the Seoul metropolitan area with the Kaesong Industrial Complex, Pyongyang, Nampo and Sinuiju. Then there is the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) Environment & Tourism Belt, which connects east and west.
Since private investment is necessary for such development, the white paper includes measures to first fund companies that took part in inter-Korean economic cooperation and suffered damages. The government then plans to resume such cooperation depending on the situation between the two Koreas. If concrete conditions are met, the plan will resume normal operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and first resume tourism of Mount Kumgang.
The plan also promotes cooperation for the utilization of common resources in North and South Korea. The border region will be designated as a reunification economic zone, and the government will create an environment to promote a special Yellow Sea peace and cooperation zone.
Such plans seemed like a fantasy when the committee released the white paper last August, but as North and South Korea move toward reconciliation, the possibility of the plan becoming reality is gradually increasing.
Plans to have North Korea take part in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to make it a peace Olympics, to use this as an opportunity to stimulate inter-Korean exchanges, and to restore inter-Korean communication channels to reestablish inter-Korean relations have already been realized.
Reportedly, the Ministry of Unification has begun working on the details of the new economic map of the Korean Peninsula.
The Hyundai Research Institute recommended that the two Koreas resume projects they have already agreed on or pursued in the past in order to realize the new map. Lee Hae-jung, a research fellow said, "Since it is difficult to make a judgment before the outcome of the inter-Korean summit and the North Korea-U.S. summit, the government needs to keep an eye on the summit results and adjust the speed."
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