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I wondered the same. North Korea is a potential gold mine. Sooner or later, the regime will collapse or open up to capitalism, and when that happens the influx

I wondered the same. North Korea is a potential gold mine. Sooner or later, the regime will collapse or open up to capitalism, and when that happens the influx of foreign capital will be enormous. When the labor costs in China become "too high", and when Vietnam is no longer "that cheap", going to NK will be the natural option. Location-wise, NK is right next to Japan, so it's less of a logistic nightmare than, say, Cambodia or Laos. In fact, I remember reading an article in the mid-1990s about an investment fund that only invested in extremely risky places, like war-torn countries in Africa, or hermit states like Belarus or NK. The idea is that when things have hit the bottom, the only possibility is for things to get better, and though the risk is very high, if 1 out of 20 countries they invested in turns out to become a stable, investor-friendly state, then the foreign investors will flock there, prices will rise, and the fund's initial investments will yield astronomical returns.

ilkhd2 17y ago
No, North Korea will not be a gold mine in this case, it would be yet another nail into the coffin of the western world (USA especially) , insanely, hysterically excited about it's own deindustrialization.
- notauser 17y ago
  There's a limited supply of people in the world - about 6bn at the moment. Roughly 1bn currently live in western-style economies at the moment. Once China and India are finished industrializing (in 30 years or so?) that'll be 3bn people in advanced economies. Increasing the living standards of the remaining 3bn wouldn't impose as much of a dislocation as the current China/India affair, because it'll represent only a 100% increase in the labor pool not a 200% increase. There'll be issues about scarce resources, and some currently abundant resources will become scarce, but the cost of unskilled and semi-skilled labor won't ever be this low again.
- AlphaMonkey 17y ago
  When I mentioned that NK could be a gold mine, what I had in mind was investments like real estate, utilities, land, agricultural commodities. My point would be clear if I had not suggested moving factories there to take advantage of cheap labor. My mistake.
- w00pla 17y ago
  > insanely, hysterically excited about it's own deindustrialization. Yeah, I tried to get a bunch of 16 year old Americans to make a bunch of shoes. Apparently they were not interested :( American deindustrialisation is not only caused by cheap labour in other countries, it is caused by the educational choices of Americans. Engineering isn't exactly the most popular thing in American universities. There is still plenty of room for hi-tech industries in first world countries (semiconductor manufacturing, specialised steel, electronic design, mechanical design, high-end software development, etc…) while still not begrudging third world countries’ jobs (textiles, assembly jobs, etc…).
  - ilkhd2 17y ago
    > Yeah, I tried to get a bunch of 16 year old Americans to make a bunch of shoes. Apparently they were not interested :( Probably you tried to pay 7.25$, per hour did not you? If you'll pay me 25 dollars per hour for making shoes - you can hire me. American deindustrialization caused by MOVING INDUSTRIES OUT OF USA, (Even food industry partially moved to China - apple juice consumed in USA for example 75% made in China). Enginnering has _nothing_ to do about deindustrilization, in fact you do not need more than couple of engineers to run a rather big plastics factory, Drop of demand (but there is still a lot of it) for engineering position in universities is just a reflection of current state of industry in USA. Combination of very bad labor protection in USA (no health protection, third world minimal salary, [do not tell me 7.25/h is a good compensation]) and "free trade" policies supported by government results in deindustrialization. Lack of good jobs causes enormous inequality in USA, as bad as in African countries. USA Gini (inequality index) = 46, higher than Nigeria = 43 and eqaul to Rwanda's. Canadian for comparison GINI = 32. Guys, whoever give negative score - I do not care to be honest - I know I step on ambitions/complexes that USA is the best country in the world (whuch is not true) - it is you country, and you are going to live there. If you dislike grim reality, or lack education/life experience to understand the direction the country is going to - well that is your choice, which will pay back, and you will not like it.

ilkhd2 17y ago

No, North Korea will not be a gold mine in this case, it would be yet another nail into the coffin of the western world (USA especially) , insanely, hysterically excited about it's own deindustrialization.

notauser 17y ago
There's a limited supply of people in the world - about 6bn at the moment. Roughly 1bn currently live in western-style economies at the moment. Once China and India are finished industrializing (in 30 years or so?) that'll be 3bn people in advanced economies. Increasing the living standards of the remaining 3bn wouldn't impose as much of a dislocation as the current China/India affair, because it'll represent only a 100% increase in the labor pool not a 200% increase. There'll be issues about scarce resources, and some currently abundant resources will become scarce, but the cost of unskilled and semi-skilled labor won't ever be this low again.
AlphaMonkey 17y ago
When I mentioned that NK could be a gold mine, what I had in mind was investments like real estate, utilities, land, agricultural commodities. My point would be clear if I had not suggested moving factories there to take advantage of cheap labor. My mistake.
w00pla 17y ago
> insanely, hysterically excited about it's own deindustrialization. Yeah, I tried to get a bunch of 16 year old Americans to make a bunch of shoes. Apparently they were not interested :( American deindustrialisation is not only caused by cheap labour in other countries, it is caused by the educational choices of Americans. Engineering isn't exactly the most popular thing in American universities. There is still plenty of room for hi-tech industries in first world countries (semiconductor manufacturing, specialised steel, electronic design, mechanical design, high-end software development, etc…) while still not begrudging third world countries’ jobs (textiles, assembly jobs, etc…).
- ilkhd2 17y ago
  > Yeah, I tried to get a bunch of 16 year old Americans to make a bunch of shoes. Apparently they were not interested :( Probably you tried to pay 7.25$, per hour did not you? If you'll pay me 25 dollars per hour for making shoes - you can hire me. American deindustrialization caused by MOVING INDUSTRIES OUT OF USA, (Even food industry partially moved to China - apple juice consumed in USA for example 75% made in China). Enginnering has _nothing_ to do about deindustrilization, in fact you do not need more than couple of engineers to run a rather big plastics factory, Drop of demand (but there is still a lot of it) for engineering position in universities is just a reflection of current state of industry in USA. Combination of very bad labor protection in USA (no health protection, third world minimal salary, [do not tell me 7.25/h is a good compensation]) and "free trade" policies supported by government results in deindustrialization. Lack of good jobs causes enormous inequality in USA, as bad as in African countries. USA Gini (inequality index) = 46, higher than Nigeria = 43 and eqaul to Rwanda's. Canadian for comparison GINI = 32. Guys, whoever give negative score - I do not care to be honest - I know I step on ambitions/complexes that USA is the best country in the world (whuch is not true) - it is you country, and you are going to live there. If you dislike grim reality, or lack education/life experience to understand the direction the country is going to - well that is your choice, which will pay back, and you will not like it.