earticle

영어

Russia and Korea are different enough to possess scores of comparative advantages with respect to each other, creating a substantial potential for trade and economic cooperation. However, trade between the two countries has been rather small. The successful resolution of geopolitical factors appears to be of utmost importance to the further development of economic ties between Russia and South Korea. In particular, resolving political tensions with North Korea is necessary for the successful implementation of the trans-Korean railway and gas pipe project that would significantly reduce South Korea’s energy costs and thus result in an increased comparative advantage. As a general conclusion, I would like to stress the importance of attaching more value to the economic, rather than political, approach to the issue of economic cooperation between Russia and the two Koreas. After all, whatever the political views and systems prevail, people will always respond to the economic incentives. Shifting the focus towards the consideration of such incentives will go a long way expanding the scope and the scale of the economic ties between Koreas and Russia, also relieving political tensions in the peninsula.