Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation holds 3rd meeting in Seoul

Back in August last year,... South Korea's Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation was established to boost economic ties with the region north of Korea. The committee met for the third time today... with the main topic being cooperation in the environmental and agro-fishery sectors.Our Ko Roon-hee reports. Members of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation met on Wednesday in Seoul... to discuss ways to increase cooperation with countries like Russia and Mongolia as part of President Moon's 'New Northern Policy'."The new northern policy began because the northern projects of the previous government were often interrupted by changes in inter-Korean relations. Therefore, the policy mainly focuses on projects that are relatively unaffected by inter-Korean relations but are highly connected with the new economic map for the Korean Peninsula."First on the meeting's agenda was the environmental sector.The committee aims to reach around 884-point-6 million U.S. dollars in exports to the northern region by 2022.Although the specifics were not confirmed yet, the environment ministry says one idea could be shipping machines or technologies related to Korea's air quality management to countries like Mongolia. The committee believes this will also create a new market for Korean products.In terms of agriculture, it plans to reach around 100-million U.S. dollars in exports to the northern region by 2022... by shipping items including farming equipment, greenhouse technologies, or seeds to central Asia. In the fishing industry, the committee will strive to secure marine resources... by improving joint-fishing with Russia.An expert in the field says there are many promising fields of cooperation."Fishery resources have been moving North because of climate change. Therefore, there are abundant resources like pollack in Russia. Russia wants to cooperate with other countries because their processed marine products rely heavily on imports."When asked whether the plan includes economic cooperation with North Korea in the long run, the committee said certain conditions need to be met beforehand... mentioning the North's denuclearization and the removal of sanctions.Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.