North Korea

On Thursday last week, Seoul paid 80 million dollars to its north neighbour for permission to test the rail link between the two countries.North Korea desperately wants economic aid without opening its border to any outside influence as the regime fears that outside-influence will immediately undermine its totalitarian system. One of the reasons as to why the regime has been surviving in spite of its severe economic hardship is that its neighbouring countries often shows, China and South Korea, lukewarm attitudes toward Pyongyang.

The deadline for the February Agreement of the Six-Party Talks past a month ago, no one however seems to be talking about it.