North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong Il, right, with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, left, during an official reception in Hanoi, 27 Oct 2007 By Matt Steinglass
VOA Hanoi
29 October 2007
North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong Il ended his visit to Vietnam, where he traveled from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Kim is responsible for running North Korea's economy, and is believed to want to apply lessons from Vietnam's economic reforms to North Korea's failing command economy. In Hanoi, Matt Steinglass has more.
Carp splashed for a meal Monday, as Prime Minister Kim Yong Il of North Korea tossed fish food into the pond in front of the small wooden house where Ho Chi Minh lived when he was President of Vietnam.
In the ceremonial visit Kim referred to the shared Communist roots of North Korea and Vietnam.
Kim said he hoped the two countries could take their historical friendship to a new level.
But the fish desperately fighting for Kim's handouts were an uncomfortable echo of the real reason for his visit: the failure of the North Korean command economy, which has made its people dependent on food aid from abroad.
Paul French is an expert on North Korea, and the director of the market research firm Access Asia. He says one reason for Kim's trip is the North Korean leadership's recognition that it needs to imitate the kinds of economic reforms that have made Vietnam's economy successful.
"There is this reform, technocratic element in North Korea that actually realizes they've got to do some reforms," he said. "At the moment, I think the reformers are probably feeling quite strong, and this is partly why Kim is undertaking these trips."
An earlier round of market-oriented reforms in North Korea failed in 2003. Financial sanctions imposed by the United States in 2006 over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program deepened the country's isolation.
The U.S. lifted those sanctions in February after Pyongyang agreed to scrap its nuclear weapons program, reviving hopes of economic reform.
Kim's trip, which will take him from Vietnam to Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, is aimed partly at learning lessons from export-oriented Asian economies.
French says Kim is also trying to curry favor with Southeast Asian countries in order to gain help from international lending institutions.
"They have to resolve this issue of dealing with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and people like that," he said. "They're not going to get any serious private investment from investment banks, or from funds, or from anything, until what's called the catalyst lenders, like the World Bank, go in there and do it."
On Sunday, Kim visited a privatized coalmine near Haiphong, part of Vietnam's effort to bring foreign investment into its energy industry. Kim was also scheduled to travel to Ho Chi Minh City to visit an export-processing zone.
Kim's trip has provided Vietnam with a chance to exercise its growing international influence, says Duong Chinh Thuc, Vietnam's former ambassador to North Korea.
Thuc says Vietnam has long wanted to play a role as mediator between North Korea and the rest of the world.
Carp splashed for a meal Monday, as Prime Minister Kim Yong Il of North Korea tossed fish food into the pond in front of the small wooden house where Ho Chi Minh lived when he was President of Vietnam.
In the ceremonial visit Kim referred to the shared Communist roots of North Korea and Vietnam.
Kim said he hoped the two countries could take their historical friendship to a new level.
But the fish desperately fighting for Kim's handouts were an uncomfortable echo of the real reason for his visit: the failure of the North Korean command economy, which has made its people dependent on food aid from abroad.
Paul French is an expert on North Korea, and the director of the market research firm Access Asia. He says one reason for Kim's trip is the North Korean leadership's recognition that it needs to imitate the kinds of economic reforms that have made Vietnam's economy successful.
"There is this reform, technocratic element in North Korea that actually realizes they've got to do some reforms," he said. "At the moment, I think the reformers are probably feeling quite strong, and this is partly why Kim is undertaking these trips."
An earlier round of market-oriented reforms in North Korea failed in 2003. Financial sanctions imposed by the United States in 2006 over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program deepened the country's isolation.
The U.S. lifted those sanctions in February after Pyongyang agreed to scrap its nuclear weapons program, reviving hopes of economic reform.
Kim's trip, which will take him from Vietnam to Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, is aimed partly at learning lessons from export-oriented Asian economies.
French says Kim is also trying to curry favor with Southeast Asian countries in order to gain help from international lending institutions.
"They have to resolve this issue of dealing with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and people like that," he said. "They're not going to get any serious private investment from investment banks, or from funds, or from anything, until what's called the catalyst lenders, like the World Bank, go in there and do it."
On Sunday, Kim visited a privatized coalmine near Haiphong, part of Vietnam's effort to bring foreign investment into its energy industry. Kim was also scheduled to travel to Ho Chi Minh City to visit an export-processing zone.
Kim's trip has provided Vietnam with a chance to exercise its growing international influence, says Duong Chinh Thuc, Vietnam's former ambassador to North Korea.
Thuc says Vietnam has long wanted to play a role as mediator between North Korea and the rest of the world.
10 comments:
It feels so good to see Vietnam and N. Korea meet for the benefit of Asian people. The two shared a lot in common. I am sure there are a lot of goodies that can be exchanged between the two countries.
"Vietnam has long wanted to play a role as mediator between North Korea and the rest of the world." Said the Viet! This is such a laughable concept and I think Cambodia can do better than the Viet! Hahahhah!
North Korea don't need to kiss the Viet's arse just have good economy because Uncle SAM is the father of free market, the father of United Nations, the father of World Bank, the father of the Asian Development Bank, the father of anti-nuclear policy, the father of anti-terrorist, and the father of father! The North Korean need to deal with the father of all fathers! Ahahhahah!
As long as North Korean gave up their nuclear ambition and the two Korean nations can be united as one country and President Bush has made clear about Korean Peninsular free of nuclear zone!
I know how hard it is to give up nuclear ambition for the North Korean because it represents bargaining chip, the pride of North Korean people, and the status among nation for being advance to have such technology! This is the legacy of the cold war!
The East Germany and the West Germany can be reunited and why not the North Korea and the South Korea be reunited? Well, it is all about politic and money simple as that!
The failure of North Korean economy is not that North Korean are stupid about their economy and it is all about economic embargo put in place by Uncle SAM on the Nuclear issue or other issues such proliferation of weapons around the world. I am sure if these North Korean have the intelligence to build missiles that can threaten Japan and South Korea and build Nuclear power plant to threaten the world and they have no problem in doing anything!
Wrong, free market has been around in Asia even before the US existed.
As for the Korea's affair, If anyone can help to reunify them, we will take our hat off for it.
For the peace in Asia I suggest that all Vietnameses move to the South Korea and all South Koreans move to Vietnam.
Gentleman
Wath out cambodians!!!.This reminds me of ending of long struggling vietnam war in1975, just after KR claimed for it success.
Diplomatic relations of N.Korea and cambodia succeded, and then vietnam to follow.Despite of the poverty , N.Korea is still a powerful country to vietnam.
Neang SA
Yes 5:41, indeed NK are powerful with nuclear capability. I don't believe Vietnam have such capability yet for being in the war for so long against the French and the US, but they soon will. Currently, Vietnam should be ready to handle hitech works and will soon to leave us in the dust -- just kidding, I am sure they will do their best to take us along with them.
Anyway, to get back to NK, it will be a shame for people with such capability have to resort to war and destruction in order to reunified their country. I think they will ultimately find a common ground between them, once everyone is more aware of the truth about what is going on.
Please NK, launch a nuclear bomd at Hanoi.
Yeah, Prey Nokor (Ho Chi minh ville) is a cambodia's land.
We want to see if your nuclear bomb are efficients. So just drop one at Hanoi please.
7:38, Prey Nokor surrendered to the Vietcong in the mid 70's. It's finish, it's goodbye forever, it's history, it's sayonara, ..., alright?
The Vietcong moves out and the North Korean moves in!
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