Editing Economy of North Korea (section)

===North–South economic ties===
North and South Korea's economic ties have fluctuated greatly over the past 30 years or so. In the late 1990s and most of the 2000s, north–south relations warmed under the [[Sunshine Policy]] of President [[Kim Dae-jung]]. Many firms agreed to invest in North Korea, encouraged by the South Korean government's commitment to cover their losses, should investment projects in the north fail to become profitable.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

Following a 1988 decision by the South Korean Government to allow trade with the North (see [[Foreign relations of North Korea#Reunification Efforts Since 1971|Reunification efforts since 1971]]), South Korean firms began to import North Korean goods. Direct trade with the South began in the fall of 1990 after the unprecedented September 1990 meeting of the two Korean Prime Ministers. Trade between the countries increased from $18.8 million in 1989 to $333.4 million in 1999, much of it processing or assembly work undertaken in the North.

During this decade, the chairman of the South Korean company [[Daewoo]] visited North Korea and reached agreement on building a light industrial complex at [[Nampo|Namp'o]]. In other negotiations, [[Hyundai Asan]] obtained permission to bring tour groups by sea to [[Kumgang-san|Kŭmgang-san]] on the North Korea's southeast coast (see [[Kumgang-san Tourist Region|Kŭmgang-san Tourist Region]]), and more recently to construct the {{convert|800|acre|km2}} [[Kaesong Industrial Region|Kaesŏng Industrial Region]], near the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ), at a cost of more than $1 billion.

In response to the summit between [[Kim Jong Il]] and Kim Dae-jung in 2000, North and South Korea agreed in August 2000 to reconnect the section of the [[Seoul]]–[[Pyongyang]] [[Gyeongui Line|Gyeongui Railway Line]] across the DMZ. In addition, the two governments said they would build a four-lane highway bypassing the truce village at [[Panmunjeom]].

TV commercials for [[Samsung]]'s [[Anycall]] cell phone featuring North Korean dancer [[Cho Myong-ae]] and South Korea's [[Lee Hyo-ri]] were first broadcast on June 11, 2006.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719200207/http://www.korea-is-one.org/article.php3?id_article=2333 "Commercial unites stars from both sides of Korea"]}}. ''Korea is one''. June 3, 2006.</ref>

Trade with South Korea declined after [[Lee Myung-bak]] was elected President of South Korea in 2008, who reduced trade to put pressure on North Korea over nuclear matters. Trade with South Korea fell from $1.8 billion to $1.1 billion between 2007 and 2013, most of the remaining trade being through the Kaesŏng Industrial Region.<ref name="ft-20140220">{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8fca490-9a23-11e3-a407-00144feab7de.html |title=South Korea has lost the North to China |author=Aidan Foster-Carter |newspaper=Financial Times |date=February 20, 2014 |access-date=April 1, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306054846/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8fca490-9a23-11e3-a407-00144feab7de.html |archive-date=March 6, 2014 }}</ref> The Park has been subject to frequent shutdowns due to political tensions.