31/10/2018
Yoon Won-sup and Choi Mira, Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr
North Korea could be an optimal place to test smart city development, and South Korea would be the best partner for the regime’s city development projects, said Chang Dae-whan, chairman of South Korea’s leading media organization Maekyung Media Group.
“Most of the North Korean land is underdeveloped and there is no regulation related to the fourth industrial revolution technologies needed to build smart cities in the country, so it can be an optimal test bed for smart cities,” Chang said at the 11th World Policy Conference (WPC) held last Sunday (local time) in Morocco.
He emphasized that South Korea that has an ample experience in developing smart cities abroad including Saudi Arabia would be able to provide the best support to the North once the sanctions are eased.
The WPC has been organized by French think-tank Institute of Foreign Relations (IFRI) since 2008 to provide a venue for world-renowned experts and political and business leaders to discuss major global issues.
“The establishment of smart cities in North Korea would not only help relieve the underdevelopment issue but also contribute to the global peace and prosperity,” said Chang.
Cities have been transformed as digital platforms where the fourth revolution technologies including blockchain and big data are realized, he added, citing the examples of South Korea’s Sejong and Busan cities. The country’s administrative city Sejong has been developing a platform that analyzes people’s emotions with help of brain science and big data. The southern port city Busan is conducting Eco-Delta City project to establish a platform to manage environmental resources.