"One of the biggest misconceptions I think people have of North Korea is that they are simple and naive. But I feel that North Koreans as a group of people have gone through a lot of hardship, and their ability to survive in difficult situations are a lot higher that what people think. People think that unification will be a basketcase for North Koreans, but they will definitely be able to manage. People also think North Koreans will have a hard time adjusting to the market economy, but the black market is also growing under the regime’s nose, and people are used to working in this environment. North Koreans are not naive."
The issue with all of this isn't the North Korea people. They are well aware of life in South Korea and elsewhere courtesy of all the black market DVDs that have been finding their way there.
It's the government filled with old socialist-era guys who surely aren't going to be so willing to just give up their power.
It's the government filled with old socialist-era guys who surely aren't going to be so willing to just give up their power
And that's what this announcement is about. $500B pays a lot of bribes (sorry, "industry reunification payments" or something). And don't think for a moment that the South Koreans will hesitate for a moment to pay them.
a) Obviously you structure it as payments after unification, and you let them set up up an industrial organisation like Samsung or Hyundai. That's plenty of power for most.
b) S. Korea would love to be able to fund almost any kind of opposition to the current regime in N. Korea. That's not what this $500B is for, but if there was a credible place to spend some money to undermine the regime I'm sure they'd be happy to do it.
From recent Kang Chol Hwan AMA
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2m87gi/i_spent_ten_ye...