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<blockquote data-quote="John Roberts" data-source="post: 74379" data-attributes="member: 126">Re: Uli Behringer of The Music Group Q&amp;AI hadn&#039;t heard of that. I though China was pretty strict about keeping North Koreans in North Korea. South Korea has been trying for years to partner with North Korea on various manufacturing ventures as they identify with their former fellow citizens and peninsula-mates. The Chinese probably look on N koreans as non-chinese to be exploited. South Korea is much more altruistic.&nbsp;&nbsp; I think Google executive (Schmidt) and other business leaders are in a delegation traveling to N Korea trying to open up some kind of trade relations. Right now. Not the first and probably not the last such attempt.N Korea is a tough nut, run by a leader with zero empathy for his own people. Viet Nam is AFAIK an agressive competitor in PAC rim trade. They have a reputation for shoddy goods (as other have when first starting out). I recall some laughable guitars they tried to sell made from old rubber tree wood decades ago, remnants of earlier days rubber plantations. I expect they are better now than they were, but this is an evolution that takes time.Mongolia is tangled up in regional politics. Dominated by soviets since the 20&#039;s now independent. Mostly nomadic living on around $1 a day. Not exactly a rich target for industrialization, other than for the abject poverty. Land locked so don&#039;t expect container ships to show up.I see Africa as the next frontier for low cost manufacturing. Auto makers have been investing there for years. North Korea looks ripe for an East Germany/West Germany like re-consolidation, while AFAIK the Korean war has never been formally declared over. You can still get your ass shot wandering around the DMZ. So don&#039;t expect rapid westernization any time soon.&nbsp; JRPS &quot;complicit&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="John Roberts, post: 74379, member: 126"] Re: Uli Behringer of The Music Group Q&A I hadn't heard of that. I though China was pretty strict about keeping North Koreans in North Korea. South Korea has been trying for years to partner with North Korea on various manufacturing ventures as they identify with their former fellow citizens and peninsula-mates. The Chinese probably look on N koreans as non-chinese to be exploited. South Korea is much more altruistic. I think Google executive (Schmidt) and other business leaders are in a delegation traveling to N Korea trying to open up some kind of trade relations. Right now. Not the first and probably not the last such attempt. N Korea is a tough nut, run by a leader with zero empathy for his own people. Viet Nam is AFAIK an agressive competitor in PAC rim trade. They have a reputation for shoddy goods (as other have when first starting out). I recall some laughable guitars they tried to sell made from old rubber tree wood decades ago, remnants of earlier days rubber plantations. I expect they are better now than they were, but this is an evolution that takes time. Mongolia is tangled up in regional politics. Dominated by soviets since the 20's now independent. Mostly nomadic living on around $1 a day. Not exactly a rich target for industrialization, other than for the abject poverty. Land locked so don't expect container ships to show up. I see Africa as the next frontier for low cost manufacturing. Auto makers have been investing there for years. North Korea looks ripe for an East Germany/West Germany like re-consolidation, while AFAIK the Korean war has never been formally declared over. You can still get your ass shot wandering around the DMZ. So don't expect rapid westernization any time soon. JR PS "complicit" [/QUOTE]

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