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North Korea
This Week in AsiaGeopolitics

Samsung, Hyundai in Moon’s plan to wean Kim off nukes with cash

Seoul dangles the carrot of investment as business leaders join South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang for third inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong-un

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Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong. Photo: Bloomberg.
Crystal Tai
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will play host to key business leaders from the South, including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, as part of the inter-Korean Summit on Tuesday as Seoul seeks to wean Pyongyang off its nuclear programme with the promise of investment.
Other business leaders in the entourage of South Korean President Moon Jae-in include Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of Hyundai Group, Kim Yong-hwan, vice-chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, and Choi Jeong-woo, chairman of POSCO.
“I think North Korea is interested in getting financial support directly from South Korean chaebol,” said Kim Jin-young, an economist and lecturer at Korea University, using the term for family-run conglomerates.

“Just as in the past, when Hyundai [Asan Projects] spent a lot of money on North Korean infrastructure building hotels and roads about two decades ago.”

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In the early 2000s, through previous agreements between South Korea’s then-president Roh Moo-hyun and the late Kim Jong-il, Hyundai was a notable investor in the development of the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region and Kaesong Industrial Park in the North.

Hyundai was a notable investor in the development of the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region and Kaesong Industrial Park in North Korea. Photo: AP
Hyundai was a notable investor in the development of the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region and Kaesong Industrial Park in North Korea. Photo: AP
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“North Korea specifically wanted the [chaebol] presence at the talks … but I cannot imagine the chairpersons will have any counterparts in the North to discuss economic cooperation between North and South Korean companies,” said Kim Jin-young.

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