The Koreas


	September 13, 2001	atimes.com

The Koreas

PYONGYANG WATCH
Memo from JZ to KJI: Get real, comrade
China's ties with North Korea come at a cost, writes Aidan Foster-Carter. On the one hand it loses millions of dollars for exports that are never paid for, while on the other the recalcitrant state stands in the way of Beijing's greater designs for the region. (Sep 12)
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Steelmakers look to China for strength
Led by the US$80 million project of a joint venture between a South Korean and a Luxembourg company, South Korea's steel producers are rushing to set up plants in China to escape the slump in the domestic industry. (Sep 11)
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Lawmakers divided over how to rescue economy
Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties have called on the South Korean government to draw up a contingency plan to help the flagging economy and boost the falling stock market to over 1,000 points. However, some say the government must raise a fresh round of public funds to rescue ailing companies; others want those companies to be left to market forces. (Sep 10)
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Seoul's 'Sunshine' shuffle
South Korean President Kim Dae-jung kept faith in his economic team in announcing a Cabinet shuffle on Friday, but the architect of Seoul's "Sunshine" policy of engagement with North Korea has been dropped. He is replaced by veteran Hong Soon-young, the current ambassador to China. (Sep 7)
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Business leaders call for Japan-Korea free trade pact
A free trade agreement between Japan and South Korea would help revive both economies, a forum of business leaders from the two countries has heard. Some Korean businesspeople remain skeptical, citing Japan's formidable non-tariff barriers that can only be removed if the Tokyo government is strong enough to push through policy changes. (Sep 7)
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In search of the original pizza
North Korea's Dear Leader is reported to have spared no expense in having pizza made in his country. Alexander Casella writes, however, that what was served up in the Hermit Kingdom, indeed, what is presented in much of the world, would have the people of Naples weeping into their pizzas. (Sep 7)
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I made pizza for Kim Jong-il

EDITORIAL
The Hynix saga: 'None of your business'
South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's third largest memory chipmaker, is as de facto bankrupt as they come. All that remains to keep the company afloat is the appeal to the "national interest" - and advice to foreigners to butt out. Putting it out of its misery is nonetheless the only sensible thing to do if the Seoul government is to send a clear signal that two years of talk about chaebol reform was more than just talk. (Sep 6)
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PYONGYANG WATCH
Is North Korea Stalinist?
North Korea is routinely referred to as a Stalinist state, often more from habit than with any real thought. Think about it though, as Aidan Foster-Carter does, and the appellation is not entirely accurate, although in the final analysis, Stalin has a lot to answer for. (Sep 4)
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Will Hynix rise from the ashes?
"A life and death war is now under way in the semiconductor industry," South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister believes. The comment follows a letter from the world's second largest DRAM manufacturer, Micron Technology of the United States, protesting against a move by Korean creditor banks to arrange a debt-for-equity swap for ailing competitor Hynix, a move the Americans say amounts to a subsidy. (Aug 30)
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Banks to lose big-time
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Seoul not about to push the panic button
The South Korea government has no plans to follow the lead of the United States in using tax breaks as a means of boosting its sluggish economy, with the deputy prime minister reiterating that restructuring and strengthening along free market principles is the only way forward. (Aug 29)
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