Yonhap
10/5/2007
Leaders of the two Koreas discussed issues relating to oil field development and exploration at the latest summit in Pyongyang, South Korea’s top economic policymaker said Friday.
“The oil development issue was discussed at the summit, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il expressed keen interest in the South’s oil field and gas exploration projects,” Finance Minister Kwon O-kyu said in a press briefing.
“South Korea also discussed the development of resources in North Korea, including oil fields.”
Kwon said the oil development issue may continue to be discussed at talks of the proposed Joint Committee for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation, a committee to be formed through upgrading the status of the existing Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee in an effort to accelerate bilateral economic cooperation.
Kwon played down concerns about potential financial burdens on the government from proposed inter-Korean business projects.
At the three-day summit, ended Thursday, the two Koreas agreed on a range of cross-border business projects, including creation of a special economic zone at the North’s western port city of Haeju, development of an existing port of Haeju, and expansion of an industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong.
The two also agreed to jointly repair and maintain the North’s dilapidated expressway linking Kaesong and Pyongyang, as well as the North’s railway between Kaesong and Sinuiju on the North’s western Chinese border.
The two countries also decided to construct an inter-Korean joint shipbuilding complex in Nampo, near Pyongyang.
South Korea will be able to finance the development of Haeju port through a proposed 2 trillion won (US$2.2 billion) overseas port development fund, which will be created by the nation’s port authority, Kwon said.
In a related note, Maritime Minister Kang Moo-hyun said in a meeting with reporters that about 220 billion won will be spent for the development of the port which will have eight berths, including two container berths.
The government will also able to attract international cooperation for repairing the railways since it is part of a wider international railway project of Trans-Siberian Railway, he said.
South Korean shipyards, which hold a combined 45 percent share of the global market, by investing in the envisioned shipbuilding complex will be able to maintain their competitiveness through access to North Korea’s cheap labor, Kwon said.
In case of the summit’s impact on domestic financial markets, Kwon declined to make concrete predictions, but said rising expectations of improving profitability and competitiveness by domestic businesses might be able to boost investor spirits.
