북방경제협력위원회, 신북방정책방향 4가지목표 설정...남북경협 기반 마련

With growing anticipation for better ties with North Korea,... South Korea has laid out its vision for economic cooperation,... and it involves working with other countries in the region, especially on infrastructure projects.
Oh Soo-young explains.
Seoul plans to lay the groundwork for economic cooperation with North Korea,... by partnering with regional neighbours including Russia.
On Monday, the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation announced four major goals,... and fourteen specific targets,... to achieve the Moon Jae-in government's so-called "New Northern Policy."
The initiative aims to eventually connect South and North Korea to the wider Far East region,... through joint projects in economic cooperation, energy, transport and other sectors.
Such efforts in the past had stalled as the government's plans depended heavily on North Korea's participation.
According to the presidential committee, that is why Seoul hopes to soon launch projects with Russia to pave the way for cooperation with the North, once it's ready to come on board.
The most notable sectors include connecting railroads, power grids and gas pipelines,... which would stretch from the Korean Peninsula to Russia's Far East.
But some of the most immediate sectors include ICT, health care, and tourism,... especially as Russian energy firms face a number of U.S. and EU sanctions.

"We plan to build an innovation platform to support efforts for research and development as well as commercialization,... for small-and-medium sized businesses that integrate Russia's core technology and our production technology."

Seoul also plans to support Central Asian countries with agricultural and financial technology.

"As inter-Korean relations improve and the North takes steps to denuclearize,... leading to the easing of sanctions,... hopes are high that it will soon play an active role in efforts to build the peace and economic prosperity of Northeast Asia and Eurasia.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News."