The Roh Moo-hyun Administration's Policy for Peace and Prosperity in Northeast Asia

The age of Northeast Asia is arriving amid the Post-Cold War currents of globalization, knowledge and information. Northeast Asia today is playing the engine¡¯s role for the world economy as capital, technology, production and logistics converge on this region.

The Korean Peninsula, located at the heart of Northeast Asia, is still locked in the Cold War order. The historic structure of conflict among China, Japan, Russia and the United States has yet to see a transformation into a forward-looking system of peace and cooperation.

The Roh Moo-hyun government is seeking to take the initiative in leading Northeast Asia to an era of peace and prosperity. It is crucial for Korea to establish a structure of peace on the Korean Peninsula and transform Korea into the hub of Northeast Asia.

The Roh government is also seeking to develop Korea into the economic hub of Northeast Asia by 1) pursuing inter-Korean economic exchange and cooperation, 2) establishing a system of Northeast Asian economic cooperation and 3) building infrastructure for a logistics and business hub.

The government plans to build the logistics hub in Northeast Asia through the following steps 1) developing the Incheon International Airport as a hub airport of Northeast Asia, while promoting Gwangyang and Busan ports into hub ports of the region, 2) developing the Incheon International Airport and Incheon Port as the logistics hub of the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area, 3) reconnecting the two inter-Korean railways and roads under construction, and establishing a transportation network connecting with the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) and the Trans-China Railway (TCR) and 4) building an integrated logistics information network linking the airports and ports by 2015.