This study aims to suggest strategies for carrying out the agricultural development cooperation between South and North Korea. To do so, we need to identify the prerequisites and lay down detailed measures in advance. Humanitarian assistance and development cooperation have different purposes and principles. Therefore, we need to reestablish the purposes and principles of cooperation to transform the humanitarian assistance into development cooperation. Also, we have to decide the type of programs, means of execution, and kind of institutional support that are needed to maximize the cooperation outcome. Another important element to consider is to secure funds and make a consensus among ourselves. Ownership and partnership are especially important for development cooperation. Both the South and the North are main entities for cooperation. Accordingly, this report reviewed necessary issues to execute agricultural development cooperation between the two Koreas.
The lessons learned from the experiences of developed countries are that the recipient country should precisely prepare a development plan with a sense of ownership and that results will be obtained only when mutual cooperation is formed through the partnership with the donor country. If the recipient country has not yet formed a foundation on which development cooperation can be carried out, the cooperation should be carried out after the recipient country is prepared to carry out the development cooperation.
Financial resources are needed to execute development cooperation in the agricultural field. However, North Korea has a limit in supplying the financial resources by itself; therefore it should concentrate on securing financial resources from outside the country. One way to secure financial resources is to borrow money from international financial institutions (IFIs), and this would be the most desirable way. However, North Korea has not even joined the IFIs yet and, as a result, it cannot secure funds for immediate use. As an alternative, North Korea can obtain financial resources from South Korea or Japan, and actually this has the highest possibility. The financial resources needed for the agricultural development can be obtained by North Korea's securing of monetary compensation from Japan and by deepening the current cooperation with South Korea. Also, obtaining financial resources in the form of a consortium by the international society can be expected; however, a considerable amount of time will be needed before it can be realized.
Understanding the needs of North Korea is necessary to carry out the agricultural development cooperation with the North. The best way is for the concerned parties to directly meet and discuss. For an advanced preparation, the operations North Korea carried out with the international society should be evaluated and North Korea's agricultural administration should be analyzed through a comprehensive examination of information obtained from interviews with the concerned people. The position of South Korea can be adjusted. Considering the financial restraint among several possible operations, the preferential operations and operations that should be carried out at a later date should be classified and carried out in stages.
The important thing in development cooperation is to be equipped with necessary systems. For the development cooperation with North Korea, first of all, a consensus among the people is needed. This can be casually discussed while in the process of establishing or consolidating related laws. The law regarding the development of relationship between the two Koreas, which was announced on December 29, 2005, should be a basic law ready to carry out the agricultural development cooperation; however, it is not yet actualized and it is concluded to have a limit in including the details needed for the development cooperation. Therefore, establishing a broader law may be an alternative. This can be achieved by establishing a separate law for the development cooperation or by revising the 'Law on Humanitarian Assistance for North Korea,' which is currently being discussed, so that it contains the humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. Reforming the systems to carry out the development cooperation is also urgent. Up to this point, all the work regarding the assistance toward North Korea was supervised by the Ministry of National Unification. From now on, however, professionalism should be strengthened when a specific cooperation project is carried out in various fields. On this matter, participation of related government ministries and offices is needed, and when this happens, the relationship with the Ministry of National Unification should be newly established. As outlined in the agreement made during the second round of the summit between the leaders of two Koreas, the 'North and South Korean Economic Association Committee' is expected to be established; therefore, the current 'North and South Agricultural Cooperation Committee' should be retitled as 'Agriculture and Fisheries Subdivision Committee,' a subdivision of 'North and South Korea Economic Association Committee,' and maintain the function as it is. Only by doing so can the agricultural cooperation maintain consistency in the general frame of economic cooperation. Also, a systematic relationship of assistance between the Ministry of National Unification and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry can be anticipated. In the financial side, there is a limit to securing a sufficient amount of fund needed for the development cooperation only with the current North and South cooperation fund; therefore, utilizing the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which is a related ministry, will resolve the budget limitation.
The existing humanitarian assistance should not be interrupted just because of the development cooperation with North Korea. Humanitarian assistance and development cooperation should be carried out side by side for some time, while placing more emphasis on the development cooperation. Only when the humanitarian assistance and development cooperation are carried out side by side can North Korea's food problem be lessened. By pursuing the humanitarian assistance in connection with development cooperation, the assistance towards North Korea can be more effective with increased benefits. Agricultural development cooperation cannot be carried out by the government independently. Roles should be assigned to local autonomous entities and private organizations; and through systematic cooperation among them, the cooperation can be carried out more effectively. Maintaining a cooperative relationship with the international society is very important as well.
Researchers: Kwon, Tae-Jin; Kim, Young-Hoon and Ji, In-Bae
E-mail address: kwontj@krei.re.kr