From 2007 to 2014, "South Korean firms with subsidiaries operating at Kaesong showed average annual increases in revenues (by 8%), fixed assets (by 26%) and profits (by 11%)." https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/north-east-asia/korean-peninsula/300-case-kaesong-fostering-korean-peace-through-economic-ties https://twitter.com/PMCroninHudson/status/1385294015470440454
"These growth figures are all the more striking given that during the same period other South Korean firms in the same industries were in decline."
One can say a lot about whether it makes sense *politically* to have inter-Korean economic cooperation, but in terms of actual profit and loss, it is a no brainer.
But it does open up a series of interesting questions, especially in light of what's going on in Myanmar. If North Korea does open up, it will be Kim Jong Un and his cronies who get rich, just as much as MEHL in Myanmar got rich off joint projects with China, Japan and S Korea.
Heck, we don't even have to go all the way to Myanmar. South Korea itself is a sufficient example of this - US sponsored several Korean dictators, all of whom got rich along with their cronies, even as the country became wealthier and freer in the process.
How much of that can we really stomach it? How much of the risk are we willing to bear that North Korea might backslide like Myanmar is doing now? Unless we are talking about invasion, forcible regime or fanciful collapse scenarios, we will have to deal with these questions.
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