ID :
205639
Wed, 09/07/2011 - 00:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/205639
The shortlink copeid
Gas pipeline project with N. Korea too risky: expert
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ambitious plan to import natural gas from Russia through North Korea may be appealing to the Lee Myung-bak administration, known for its vigorous energy diplomacy, but such a project could be another gamble riskier than the now-suspended inter-Korean tour program, a U.S. expert said Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, agreed in late August to speed up a project to lay a gas pipeline to reach South Korea.
Last week, South Korea's ruling party leader, Hong Joon-pyo, also painted a rosy picture.
"I know that South Korea, North Korea and Russia will begin three-way negotiations around November this year," he said in a lecture.
Hong added natural gas from Siberia will be transported via a pipeline to the East Sea region of South Korea through Russia.
Government sources said South Korea and Russia are expected to discuss the project in bilateral summit talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in November in Hawaii.
Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy, said the Lee administration is taking a "contradictory approach' to economic engagement with North Korea.
He pointed to a joint tourism program to Mount Kumgang along the North's east coast.
The two Koreas launched the tour business in 1998 as a sign of reconciliation and a cash cow for the communist regime.
The program came to a halt in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead there by North Korean soldier. The South has demanded a formal apology and security guarantees for the resumption of the tours.
Pyongyang, however, responded by seizing all the assets of the South's government and a private company, Hyundai Asan, the main operator for the tour program.
"The problem is that the political risks and potential financial losses inherent in a pipeline project that would transit North Korea would be staggering in comparison to the losses South Korea faces as a result of the failure of the Mount Kumgang tourism project," Snyder said.
"Are South Korean investors really prepared to double down on North Korea's trustworthiness as a business partner by sealing a Russian pipeline deal at the same time they are getting shoved out of Mount Kumgang?" he added.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, agreed in late August to speed up a project to lay a gas pipeline to reach South Korea.
Last week, South Korea's ruling party leader, Hong Joon-pyo, also painted a rosy picture.
"I know that South Korea, North Korea and Russia will begin three-way negotiations around November this year," he said in a lecture.
Hong added natural gas from Siberia will be transported via a pipeline to the East Sea region of South Korea through Russia.
Government sources said South Korea and Russia are expected to discuss the project in bilateral summit talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in November in Hawaii.
Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy, said the Lee administration is taking a "contradictory approach' to economic engagement with North Korea.
He pointed to a joint tourism program to Mount Kumgang along the North's east coast.
The two Koreas launched the tour business in 1998 as a sign of reconciliation and a cash cow for the communist regime.
The program came to a halt in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead there by North Korean soldier. The South has demanded a formal apology and security guarantees for the resumption of the tours.
Pyongyang, however, responded by seizing all the assets of the South's government and a private company, Hyundai Asan, the main operator for the tour program.
"The problem is that the political risks and potential financial losses inherent in a pipeline project that would transit North Korea would be staggering in comparison to the losses South Korea faces as a result of the failure of the Mount Kumgang tourism project," Snyder said.
"Are South Korean investors really prepared to double down on North Korea's trustworthiness as a business partner by sealing a Russian pipeline deal at the same time they are getting shoved out of Mount Kumgang?" he added.
