Talking World: 1월 2012

2012년 1월 29일 일요일

No 'significant' change to U.S. troops in Korea: Adm. Willard

The head of the U.S. Pacific Command said Friday that there will be no "significant" change in the scale and role of American troops in South Korea despite the Pentagon's plan to cut budgets and slash the number of ground troops. Adm. Robert Willard, however, left open the possibility for some adjustment, based on annual consultations between the allies, given regional security conditions. The agreement to station roughly 30,000 soldiers in Korea is generally to face North Korea but also "with an understanding that those troops are there with the region in mind," he told reporters at a press conference organized by the Washington Foreign Press Center.

more article : http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120128000053

N. Korea Pegged as 3rd Most Dangerous Country for Business

British corporate advisory group Maplecroft has designated North Korea, Myanmar and Somalia as the worst places to do business in the world. Maplecroft said in a recent report that North Korea ranked third among a survey of 173 countries to slate the most dangerous nations for carrying out corporate activities. Last Thursday, North Korea was also chosen as one of the most unfavorable places to do business among 179 countries in a recent survey conducted by U.S. conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_IK_detail.htm?No=87776&id=IK

2012년 1월 25일 수요일

Sudden unification could cause 3.65 mil. N. Koreans to enter S. Korea: report

Source :http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/01/113_103421.html Sudden unification between South and North Korea could cause a flood of refugees across the land border that could rock the local labor market, a business organization said Tuesday. A report by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) predicted that if the North Korean regime collapsed suddenly, up to 3.65 million people from the communist country may cross over into capitalist South Korea. "Even under a conservative estimate, up to 1.61 million North Koreans may move to South Korea, mainly because of the huge difference in wages and employment opportunities," the KEF said. It said such a wholesale movement of people could seriously disrupt the local labor market and cause other social problems. "North Koreans who migrate into South Korea will probably find work as menial laborers and take over positions held by foreign migrant workers," the federation said. There may be some 470,000 jobs that North Korean workers may be able to fill immediately in case the two Koreas unify, although exact numbers are hard to predict, it added. The federation, representing the interest of entrepreneurs, said government policymakers should carefully look at the confusion caused in the aftermath of Germany's unification to prevent similar developments taking place on the Korean Peninsula. They stressed that measures must be taken to limit wage hikes in North Korea after unification so it does not endanger sustained economic growth.