Koreas agree on more economic ties

["Ulhas Joglekar" <ulhasj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sunday
12 November 2000

Koreas agree on more economic ties
SEOUL: North and South Korea on Saturday initiated four agreements,
including one on the avoidance of double taxation, adding momentum to
expanding inter-Korean economic cooperation.
Economic officials from both sides in Pyongyang agreed on measures to avoid
double taxation, settle cross-border payments, guarantee investments and for
settling disputes, a report from the North's capital said.
Under the agreements, the two sides will grant each other most favoured
nations status, allowing businesses to operate freely across the border.
The agreements, which have yet to be approved by either Parliament, are seen
here as a boon to inter-Korean economic cooperation.
It will allow North Korean firms doing business in South Korea to pay or be
paid at banks in the South, and vice versa, rather than using foreign banks.
The two Koreas also agreed to launch a "Korean euro," their own single
currency, for use with US dollars for future inter-Korean trade, according
to press reports.
The new currency would be a special means of payment to be used exclusively
in inter-Korean trade, South Korean assistant Finance and Economy Minister
Lee Kyong-Keun, was quoted as saying in Pyongyang.
The South's chief delegate compared the new inter-Korean currency with the
euro, used in 11 European countries and launched in January 1999. He did not
elaborate, or say what the new currency would be called. (AFP)
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