Momentum for Building a Northeast Asian Economic Community: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The risks of political tensions and military confrontation and war in the Northeast Asian region, triggered by North Korea in particular, has been a critical gap in an otherwise productive network of dynamic regional economic growth. However, this year, the milestone summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Eun has resulted in a dramatic change on the Korean Peninsular, prompting greater need for the region to strengthen ties and find mutually beneficial ways to handle tasks ahead.

Toward this end, the KIEP–NEAEF collaborative project seeks to fulfill the need for timely and forward-looking research and meeting activities by focusing on critical issues, such as 1) discussion and emphasis on connectivity in cross border infrastructure developments involving North Korea as an integral part of a broader regional economic community in Northeast Asia, and 2) revisiting the design and establishment of a Northeast Asia Bank for Cooperation and Development (NEABCD) in the context of economic cooperation and integration in the Korean Peninsula.

This volume in the series of proceedings volumes is titled “Momentum for Building a Northeast Asian Economic Community: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities” and comprises summaries of research presentations and discussions at the planning meeting in Honolulu, at the 27th Annual Conference of the Northeast Asia Economic Forum in Sendai, Japan, and at the Honolulu Ad Hoc Group Meeting on Financial Cooperation in Northeast Asia in 2018. The results of this project represent activities that have been contributing to economic dialogues, interactions, and research on common issues for cross-border future economic cooperation in the region, which involves North Korea.