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There is a saying that China, Russia and North Korea, which have been sanctioned by the United States and the Western world, can trade with each other in Northeast Asia and take practical actions to break the situation and respond. But to this day, this situation still does not appear before the public eye.
Why is this happening? Although Russia's Far East is not as developed as its main part of Europe, after Putin has completely lost illusions about integrating into the West, Russia has really accelerated its measures to look east and go east.
It not only expands trade in the economic and trade spheres, but also helps the mainland open up the situation at the political level. It can be said that it has strengthened ties and cooperation with China in all aspects. Although North Korea does not have many allies, it itself is very trustworthy.
In the 50s of the last century, the relations between China, Russia and the DPRK were very good. To this day, China, Russia and the DPRK are still the same. However, the prosperity of trade between China, Russia and North Korea has not yet emerged. This is actually a very noteworthy issue.
But the answer seems to be found on the new Yalu River Bridge that connects China and North Korea. The New Yalu River Bridge is located in Dandong City, Liaoning Province, China, across the bridge from Sinuiju in North Korea. It stands to reason that the bridge will greatly facilitate trade between the two countries.
However, not only has the new Yalu River Bridge not been put into practical use for ten years after its completion, but it has not yet been opened to traffic. Some relevant people also revealed in media interviews that the North Korean side opposite the bridge is still a piece of farmland, and the North Korean side is not very enthusiastic.
In other words, this border bridge between China and North Korea, which was dedicated to interconnecting trade, lost its greatest value. In this way, the significance of the construction of this bridge will be seriously reduced. In other words, it may be that the construction of this bridge has many facets.
However, the significance of strengthening economic and trade cooperation no longer exists. Why is this happening, and is it possible that North Korea is unwilling to catch the express train of economic development? North Korea is reluctant to join the tide of economic globalization. Just want to live a hard life?
Or is it that North Korea itself has a lot of trouble? This dilemma has hindered the DPRK's efforts to strengthen its close ties with the mainland. In fact, North Korea's own hardships are one of the reasons. Another reason is the influence of the Soviet Union, which caused a serious imbalance in the economic system.
Sanctioned by the United Nations
After North Korea completed its first nuclear test in 2006, the United Nations adopted a resolution and imposed sanctions on North Korea. To this day, the sanctions continue and do not stop. At the same time, the United States also began to impose economic sanctions on North Korea. This is the bitterness of North Korea.
Under the two-pronged posture, North Korea can only be forced to endure all this. In 2010, North Korea agreed to build a new bridge over the Yalu River with the mainland. It is likely that North Korea wants to take advantage of this opportunity to gain certain economic benefits and thus increase its nuclear research efforts.
But immediately afterward, the United Nations and the United States and the Western world stepped up sanctions against North Korea. In other words, the DPRK's idea of strengthening economic and trade cooperation with the mainland was stillborn before it came out. Therefore, even after the successful construction of the bridge in 2014.
There were only some symbolic exchanges between the two sides, which were quite short-lived. At that time, many businessmen who had come to Dandong to invest in the new Yalu River Bridge were eager for North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, to give up research on nuclear weapons.
If North Korea abandons research on nuclear weapons, then UN sanctions with United States will stop. It's a pity that Kim Jong-un didn't. As a result, the new Yalu River Bridge has not actually been put into use, at least not for trade.
Imbalances in the economic system
As mentioned earlier, the DPRK learned the Soviet method. Economic growth is achieved by giving priority to the development of heavy industry, especially the military industry. However, the Soviet Union has collapsed, and the imbalance of this economic system has proved to be very flawed.
However, due to North Korea's determination to develop nuclear weapons, North Korea can only choose one path to go black. However, we cannot adopt the means of reform and opening up like the mainland and gradually usher in the spring breeze of the market economy. This means that North Korea invests very little in economic development.
At least compared to the amount of investment and the military industry, it is much less. Therefore, the DPRK does not have such a strong desire to develop its economy, so it naturally does not maintain a close trade posture with other countries. Because there is no condition to do so.
In other words, the DPRK itself has chosen to develop the military industry instead of developing industries related to people's livelihood and science and technology. And if no one wants North Korea's military products, North Korea will not be able to get enough money to continue investing in its military industry.
and maintaining the current situation. Not to mention, the construction of infrastructure also requires a lot of capital investment. The mainland has already invested a lot here in Dandong, and it is impossible to invest so much in the Sinuiju region of North Korea. North Korea can only choose to be self-reliant.
Regional development is uneven
On the basis of a serious imbalance in the economic system, North Korea's regional development will only become more unbalanced. This was the case with the USSR. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the vast Siberia and its Far East were not regarded as very important, but were habitually ignored.
It would be unrealistic to ask the Soviet Union to strengthen trade with the mainland. After all, the Far East was a relatively weak region of the Soviet Union, and the trade volume would certainly not be large. In the same way, the area bordering the mainland is also underdeveloped.
Infrastructure construction alone can cost North Korea half its life, and if it wants to expand its trade volume, it will not blow North Korea's domestic market to pieces. As a matter of fact, the DPRK's actual situation and actual needs doomed the volume of trade with the mainland to be small.
Therefore, the current situation of the new Yalu River Bridge is completely understandable. The western frontier of the continent is less likely to trade with the landlocked countries of Central Asia. If there is no Belt and Road project, the construction of relevant infrastructure and the expansion of trade in the form of railways will be promoted.
So far, the five Central Asian countries may not be so close to the mainland in terms of trade. However, the DPRK has been able to get to this point because of a lot of willfulness factors. If only North Korea could not be extremely hostile to Korea to the south.
North Korea's defense is completely unnecessary. Because the situation of relying on Russia and the mainland dooms North Korea to not afford to lose. However, Kim Jong-un and Kim Il-sung regard the reunification of the Korean Peninsula as the most important goal. North Korea cannot change without military regression.
Resources:
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2014/10-31/6735148.shtml
https://www.toutiao.com/article/6554122062573601287/?channel=&source=search_tab
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