Multilateral Energy Cooperation in Northeast Asia: A Focus on Oil and Natural Gas Development

Abstract

During the last few years, new geoeconomic patterns have been rapidly replacing past geopolitical alignments due to Sino-Soviet rapprochement, normalization between South Korea and the former Soviet Union, economic cooperation between South Korea and the People’s Republic of China, the improving political relationships between the United States and North Korea and Japan and North Korea, and a somewhat improved inter-Korean relationship. More encouraging are the signs that multilateral economic relations are emerging, possibly leading to a “Northeast Asian Economic Circle.” Once the Turnen River Basin Development Scheme under the auspices of the United Nations Development Plan (UNDP) gets under way, the full-fledged development of multilateral economic relations in the region will be a more likely prospect.