Baeguk

[beifengxiaoxiao]

Second Historic North-South Inter-Baegukese Summit Aims to Partially Demilitarize the DMZ, Boost Southern Investment
South Baeguk's Prime Minister Yoon Haneul landed in Taedo to negotiate with North Baeguk's Yuri Bitnari
Author: Ima Fayghote
June 23, 5729

A little under 2 years after the first successful North-South Inter-Baegukese Summit, PM Yoon has arrived in Taedo to talk with President Yuri Bitnari over increased ties across the peninsula. Prime Minister Yoon echoed his previous concerns over arms control and artillery concentration in the Baegukese DMZ, mentioning that all future neogitations will be contingent on the willingness of the Kyo People's Army to partially disarm and lower the intensity of patrols and fortifications on the highly guarded border between the two states. 

President Yuri previously stated in her first year in power that separate borders were neccessary to safeguard northern independence, but has since sang a different tune and declared the North amenable to partial disarmament in preparation for eventual peaceful unification. The South has always felt militarily threatened and vulnerable to Communist attacks, as the North largely possess the terrain advantage of controlling more territory and most of the high points of the Jungang mountain range.

Crucial to these talks will also be the matter of economic investment in the North. The establishment of the Sinsu Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in 5727 was a massive boon to the flailing Northern economy, as it offered an influx of foreign goods and expertise as well as a significant foreign cash reserve injection into the North. 

The North is rapidly reforming in an attempt to stave off institutional and economic collapse. Years of failed attempts to revamp the economy, economic mismanagement, authoritarianism, and communist rot have left the North Baegukese economy. Many analysts suspect that one of the main drivers of the North's rapid reforms and push towards reconciliation is the pragmatic need to balance their books, something the wealthier South can provide.

In return for further investment, it is likely South Baeguk will demand increased access to Northern markets and greater freedom of movement and volume of importation and labor travel. A huge draw of Southern companies to invest in the SSEZ has been the competitive and hard working proletarians of the North, who can be employed for longer hours in worse conditions with less protections and far less pay than Southern employees. Furthermore, due to the desperation of Northern consumers to acquire both basic needs and luxury goods from the South, they form a significant new market to exploit.

If PM Yoon and President Yuri can agree on terms of DMZ disarmament and further economic cooperation, it may yet signal that reunifciation is soon to come.