http://donklephant.com/2009/08/17/north-korea-to-reopen-border-with-south-korea/ Big Teeth. Huge Ass. Surprisingly Reasonable. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:03:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://donklephant.com/2009/08/17/north-korea-to-reopen-border-with-south-korea/comment-page-1/#comment-538938 wj Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:58:42 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=16416#comment-538938 Perhaps the best explanation for reopening the border is simply that the North makes big (compared to their GDP) money from the visits and family reunions, and can no longer afford to go without it. After all, if the luxuries for the elite start to disappear, the whole government could come down. And once you have the bulk of the population eating grass to try and stay alive, there isn't any more to be squeezed from them. Perhaps the best explanation for reopening the border is simply that the North makes big (compared to their GDP) money from the visits and family reunions, and can no longer afford to go without it. After all, if the luxuries for the elite start to disappear, the whole government could come down. And once you have the bulk of the population eating grass to try and stay alive, there isn’t any more to be squeezed from them.

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