Kim Jong Un received a USB drive from South Korea's president with a blueprint for connecting North Korea with the world

Authored by businessinsider.com and submitted by AdamCannon
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Korea Summit Press Pool2/Getty Images

When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stepped across the border last month to meet South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, there was a historic handshake, a day full of symbolism, a much-lauded agreement, and countless drinks at dinnertime.

Moon also reportedly gave Kim one more thing: a USB drive.

Citing South Korea's presidential Blue House, various local news outlets reported that Moon gave Kim a book and a USB drive containing an e-book and a presentation on the "New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula," something Moon announced last year.

The map is a blueprint for economic cooperation between North Korea and South Korea and includes three "belts": one along the eastern coast and Russian border for energy and resources, another along the western coast for transportation and logistics, and a third across the land border for tourism.

Moon most likely wants to use the map — which also outlines gas pipes and an inter-Korean train network that could connect with China, Russia, and Europe — to entice North Korea to keep to the Panmunjom Declaration signed at the demilitarized zone.

A Blue House official said the USB drive also included "information related to a power plant," the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The purpose of giving Kim the flash drive appears to be an attempt to convince Kim that North Korea needs international economic support after years of sanctions.

"The USB makes the case to Kim — there really is another path for you," John Delury, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University, told the news website Axios.

Delury told Axios that the flash drive would send a message to Kim: "We're serious about working with you for what we think is your real ambition, to be a wealthy East Asian country."

USB drives are frequently smuggled into North Korea with content banned in the country, including South Korean and Hollywood films, as well as global news. Many people who have defected from North Korea have said the foreign content on these flash drives played a part in their decision.

Defector groups often send USB drives — along with mini radios, flyers, and $1 bills — in balloons across the border, though police in South Korea blocked a planned release of flyers on Saturday.

JKLreindeer on May 7th, 2018 at 05:53 UTC »

A link to lo fi hip hop beats to chill and study to

din35h on May 7th, 2018 at 02:48 UTC »

Moon is an optimist. He planned to invite a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, reviving reunions of separated families and possibly arranging a meeting between himself and Mr Kim. He also called on North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes. In the ten months since this, much of what Mr Moon envisaged has become reality. Well, sort of. Hope this becomes a reality aswell and peace reigns.

badassmthrfkr on May 7th, 2018 at 02:02 UTC »

"The USB makes the case to Kim — there really is another path for you,"

I think Kim understands this since he experienced life in the West, but was forced to continue the path of his father because 1)He needed time to consolidate power before doing anything drastic and 2)The two previous SK administrations were hostile towards NK. The new SK administration gave him a pathway to save face, and from what I've seen during the summit and their gestures afterwards, I'm very optimistic that KJU is serious about this. And with sanctions lifted and economic partnership with SK, NK's economy can grow at a breakneck speed.