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The relationship between china and Siberia/RussianFar East: Economic cooperation and security conflictsWoo‐jun Kim a

a Institute of East and West Studies , Yonsei University , KoreaPublished online: 07 Apr 2008.

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GLOBAL ECONOMIC REVIEW 69Vol. 30, No. 4,2001, pp. 69-81

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHINA ANDSIBERIA/RUSSIAN FAR EAST: ECONOMIC

COOPERATION AND SECURITY CONFLICTS*

Woo-jun Kim

Institute of East and West Studies, Yonsei University, Korea

This paper analyzes the current relationship between China and Siberia/Russian FarEast from the economic and political-security perspectives. The relationshipbetween China and Siberia/Russian Far East is that of cooperation and conflict.China gains natural resources and energy from Siberia/Russian Far East, whileSiberia/Russian Far East secures consumer goods, food and labor to fill its shortagefrom China. The two regions are in an economically complementary relationship.However, they show differences in their interests in issues such as the Tuman RiverDevelopment Project. If their economic cooperation could be called the "bright" sideof their relationship, there exists the "dark" side of their relationship, which is theborder dispute. The paper argues that as a way to reduce conflict and increasecooperation in Northeast Asia, a multilateral security/economic organization,tentatively called the "Organization for Security and Cooperation in Northeast Asia,"should soon be established.

1. INTRODUCTION

China and Russia are often compared in international relations for China's rise tosuperpower status through rapid economic growth and Russia's decline after thebreak up of the Soviet Union. Russia's weakening influence in Asia has beenparticularly notable. Questions have been raised within Russia whether it would beable to maintain its hold on Siberia and the Russian Far East, which share theborder with China. There have been calls from some circles for the repatriation of

* This paper was presented at the International Conference on "Political, Security andEconomic Factors of Economic Cooperation in Northeast Asia" held in Waanbaatar onMarch 6-7, 2002. This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant.

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70 Woo-jun Kim

the Russian Far East to China, alleging that much of the land had been taken awayfrom China through an unfair treaty with Imperial Russia during the ChingDynasty. Mao Ze Dung said that throughout Chinese history they had neveragreed on the Russian possession of the Far East (Kim 1999:138).

Regional governments began to exert their influences with the break up ofthe Soviet Union and the birth of the Russian Federation. Siberia/Russian Far East,with rich natural resources, have not been exceptions to the rising regionalistsentiment. As subjects of the federation, Siberia/Russian Far East have the right toform relationships with other countries. That is why their relationship withadjacent China has become very close.

With such a background, Northeast Asia demands attention after the end ofthe Cold War. This paper intends to examine the progress and problems of therelationship between China with its enormous population and Siberia/Russian FarEast with their vast land but population of only 30 million. In other words, thispaper intends to analyze the current China and Siberia/Russian Far Eastrelationship from economic and political-security perspectives. At the same time,this paper seeks ways to promote stability in Northeast Asia through conflictresolution and cooperation.

2. CHINA-SIBERIA/RUSSIAN FAR EAST RELATIONSHIP:ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

China wants to provide consumer goods, food and labor to Siberia/Russian FarEast and receive raw materials and energy in return. In particular, China considersSiberia-Russian Far East as a source of raw materials for its economicdevelopment. In other words, China and Siberia/Russian Far East are in a mutuallycomplementary relationship, with Siberia/Russian Far East's rich resources andshortage of consumer goods, food and labor and China's need for resources and itsproblem of overpopulation.

Border Trade between China's Three Northeast Provinces and Siberia/Russian Far East

The combined population of China's three northeast provinces (Heilongjiang, Jilin,and Liaoning) is about 100 million. Some of the unemployed in Heilongjiang andJilin have moved to Siberia/Russian Far East to find work, and since the 1990s,light industrial products, food and electronic equipments have been exported toSiberia/Russian Far East by China. Due to the high transportation cost, resultingfrom their geographical remoteness from central Russia, they consider itindispensable to establish trade with the three northeast provinces of China,

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The Relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East 71

particularly with Heilongjiang Province. As such, joint ventures between the twocountries have increased since the 1990s. The border trade between the tworegions goes back to the 1980s. Trade began in 1983, and was vitalized with theratification of the 'Trade between Regions" at the central government level in1988. As a result, 70 percent of Siberia's trade was with China in 1991 and 1992.Bartering has been the common mode of trading, and there are also smallindividual merchants. Border trading expanded with the designation of ZPES(Zona Prigranicnogo Ekonomiceskogo Sotrudnicestva), an economic cooperationand free trade zone in Siberia. In 1993, 90 percent of exports from Siberia went toChina, and 446 companies and institutions were involved in the trade. The exportitems included steel, petroleum products, fertilizers, trucks, bulldozers, elasticrubber, and railroad products. Details of the border trade in 1994 between EastSiberia and China is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Border Trade between East Siberia and China in 1994(unit: US$ 1,000)

Export

Import

Export

Import

GormiyAltay

Republic

300

332

BuryatiaRepublic

21,203

15,198

Altay Kray

12,043

Tuva

Republic

KemerovoOblast

343,803

7,436

KhakassiaRepublic

1,669

715

NovosibirskOblast

8,481

3,055

KrasnoyarskKray

32,412

5,134

OmskOblast

18,877

5,449

IrkutskOblast

58,117

12,482

TomskOblast

2,785

2,510

ChitaOblast

23,107

15,577

TyumenOblast

562

9,229

Source: Goskomstat, Osnovnie Pokazateli Socialino-economicesko Polozenija i ChodaEkonomiceskoi Reformi v Regionach Zapadno-sibirskogo i Vostocno-sibirskogoEkonomiceskich Rajonov Rossijskoj Federacii, Moskva 1994.

Border trade between the Russian Far East and the three northeastprovinces of China, Heilongjiang Province in particular, has been active (Table 2),but since the restoration of diplomatic relationship between Russia and Korea,Korean products have been preferred over Chinese products.1

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72 Woo-jun Kim

Table 2. China's Three Northeast Provinces' Trade with Russia (1995)(unit: US$ 10,000)

3 NortheastProvinces

Lianing

Jilin

Heilongjiang

ExportImport

TradeVolume

8258.02735.1

1419.51503.6

2095.91334.1

11773.45572.8

Domesticportion (%)

5.53.2

0.91.8

1.41.6

7.96.6

Trade withRussia

127.766.7

84.789.9

855.1675.0

1067.1831.6

Portion ofRegion

1.52.4

6.06.0

40.850.6

9.114.9

Portion ofRussia

8.54.4

5.65.9

56.944.4

71.154.7

Source: Modified from Kerr (1998).

Since the 1990s China has competed against new rivals in the Russian FarEast, such as Korea, and existing competitors such as Japan. Consequently, Chinaincreased its efforts in cementing its relationship with Khabarovsk Kray, which hasa significant importance in the Russian Far East As a result, China has gained theupper hand in the competition with the formation of 188 joint ventures with Russia(Varlamova 1993: 21). For example, Liaoning Province trades its consumer goodsand non-durable goods with natural resources from the Khabarovsk region. Thetwo regions have ratified a resolution on economic cooperation in electronics,machinery manufacturing, natural resource development, metallurgic, lumber, andagricultural industries. Direct flights from Shenyang to Khabarovsk and a shippingroute between Dailian and Vanino will strengthen relationships between the tworegions (Kim 1999:184).

Heilongjiang Province, which has four border trade cities: Heihe, Suifenhe,Tongjiang, and Hulin, is active in trading with the Khabarovsk region due to itsgeographical proximity. Many representatives from Khabarovsk attend the annualinternational exposition held in Haerbin to make cooperative advances in the field ofaerospace industry. Regularly scheduled flights between the two regions have alsocontributed and facilitated traveling and human exchange. At the same time, therehave been constructions of shopping centers and lumber processing plants.Khabarovsk region also transferred deep depth mining technology to the gold miningindustry in the Heilongjiang Province (Jasenev 1993: 74). Furthermore, exchangeamong small regions, which may include bartering, has been active. According towhat the Vice Mayor of Khabarovsk said, this region has been more active inexchange with Northeast Asian countries than Moscow. Sales counters are occupiedby Chinese merchants, and are filled with Chinese consumer goods and food.

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The Relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East 73

Table 3. Trade in Heilongjiang (As of October 2000)(unit: US$ 10,000)

TradeType

Trade

General

Processing

Border

Others

TradeVolume

246197.10

107254.13

27904.96

101404.04

9633.98

% Change

48.50

45.54

3.63

167.16

113.64

Export

118507.10

69612.96

16384.66

28929.42

3580.13

% Change

70.58

55.21

4.54

249.44

434.13

Import

127689.93

37641.17

11520.30

72476.61

6053.85

% Change

32.56

30.49

2.35

38.35

-57.68

Source: Comprehensive Report on Trade, Heilongjiang Province Office of Trade andEconomic Cooperation (2000).

Table 4. Trade in Heilongjiang (As of October 2001)(unit: US$ 10,000)

TradeType

Total

General

Processing

Border

Others

Economic/Technical

Cooperation

Total(all provinces)

Contract

LaborCooperation

Foreign DirectInvestment

Total(all province)

Joint-capitalVentures

TradeVolume

261589.34

108467.39

22973.14

122869.53

7279.28

Items

162

4

158

Number ofItems

207

83

% Change

6.25

1.13

-17.67

21.17

-24.44

% Change

-18.59

-82.61

-9.20

% Change

-3.30

-25.20

Export

118084.96

57542.64

12945.60

44139.79

3456.93

Revenue

11890.00

7950

3940.00

TotalAmount

77844.00

9792.00

% Change

-0.36

-17.34

-20.99

52.58

-3.43

% Change

23.11

31.47

9.11

% Change

19.70

-15.20

Import

143504.38

50924.75

10027.54

78729.74

3822.35

ActualNumber

Exchanged

5615

913

4702

ActualForeign

Fund

70190.00

14888.00

% Change

12.39

35.29

-12.96

8.63

-36.86

% Change

-29.54

-52.42

-22.28

% Change

10.90

-15.80

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74 Woo-jun Kim

Cross-stateJoint-capital

Ventures

ForeignCompanies

Others

27

97

80.00

10.20

10236.00

12816.00

45000.00

62.60

39.80

180.40

4259.00

6043.00

45000.00

221.20

-4.10

18.40

Source: Comprehensive Report on Trade, Heilongjiang Province Office of Trade andEconomic Cooperation (2001).

Comparing Table 3 with Table 4, border trade has increased rapidly from 2000 to2001. In Heihe, trade reached US$ 210 million in 1998, and it increased by 20.4percent in 1999 to US$ 258 million. Suifenhe, another border trade city insouthern Heilongjiang Province, is the largest city that trades with Russia. Thecity's trade with Russia reached US$ 470 million in May 2001, which is a 44.11percent increase from the previous year. Its import items include pulp, timber,petrochemical raw materials, potassium chloride and high-tech products as well.The import of high-tech products increased by 605 percent from the previous year.Suifenhe's export items include clothing, shoes, vegetables and electronicsproducts. In particular, export of electronic products increased by 404 percent fromthe previous year. However, light industrial products and consumer goods accountfor 84.24 percent of all exports. The autonomous Inner Mongolia is also active intrading with Siberia and other regions of Russia. In 1997, the greatest portion ofInner Mongolia's exports went to Russia (totaling US$ 200 million, which was 27percent of total exports). Inner Mongolia also imported the most number of goodsfrom Russia (totaling US$ 220 million, which was 39 percent of total .imports).According to the data provided by the Autonomous Inner Mongolia Office ofEconomy and Trade, it also processed the most incidents of technologicalcooperation with Russia amounting to US$ 13 million.

Primorskij Kraj in the Russian Far East, which neighbors China'sHeilongjiang and Jilin Provinces had purchased necessary food items from centralRussia, but now it procures food from China, Canada and other regions. As such,China ranks first in the number of registered foreign companies in Primorskij Kraj.Establishment of the China Trade Center in the southern city of Ussurisk reflectsChina's commitment in trade with Russia (Alexseev 2001:130).

However, there are conflicts in economic cooperation between China andRussia. For example, progress in the Tumen River Area Development Programme(TRADP) has been slow, as Primorskij Kraj considers the program to be in favor ofChina. This is because the development of the Tumen River on the Chinese sidewill provide a faster route between Northeast Asia and Europe, and this wouldweaken the role of Vladivostok and Nakhodka, where the Trans-Siberian Railroad

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The Relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East 75

begins; it further means the decline of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. There is also aclaim that even if the ports of Posiyet and Zharubino were developed as part ofTRADP, it would be for the benefit of China rather than Primorskij Kraj. As such,high-ranking government officials of Vladivostok assert that the city must bedeveloped regardless of the TRADP. The Primorskij Kraj government believesthat foreign investment would be limited to the Tumen River region and not beexpanded to Vladvostok or Nakodka. Primorskij Kraj is also concerned that asignificant amount of labor will flow into its region in the process of providinglabor as part of China's role in the TRADP. Primorskij Kraj is also apprehensiveabout falling deeper into the economic influence of China (Kim 1999:195-6).

Finally, Primorskij Kraj claims that the northeastern part of China hasbenefited significantly from small individual trades with no significant benefits tothe Russian Far East. Moreover, along with the reports that strategic resourceshave flowed into China without any restrictions (Vladivostok History ResearchInstitute Report November 1999), Primorskij Kraj asserts that only the RussianMafia benefits from the trade in this regard.

Natural Resources Cooperation

Russia's Siberia/Russian Far East is the treasure trove of natural resources. WestSiberia, which is already well developed, has supplied natural resources to theEuropean Russia and European countries. The source of Russian natural resourceshas slowly moved east, which means that East Siberia and the Russian Far Eastwill be the center of natural resources for Russia. At the same time, China hasconcentrated on improving economic ties with East Siberia/Russian Far East,which is geographically closer than the northwest region of West Siberia, in orderto secure raw materials and energy it needs for economic development. China hasbeen importing various raw materials from Siberia/Russian Far East, but it intendsto import a large amount of energy from East Siberia as well.

First, China intends to import 20 billion m3 annually through a pipeline ofabout 3,000 km, when Koviktin natural gas fields in East Siberian Irkutsk Oblastare developed. The gas fields are expected to produce 30-35 billion m3 natural gas,and the gas pipeline could be extended to Korea and Japan. The construction ofthe pipeline is estimated to cost US$ 10 billion. When the project is completed, itis expected to supply natural gas to China for 30 years. Another gas project plan isto secure gas through a pipeline from West Siberia, which would be farther thanEast Siberia. This project is estimated to cost about US$ 10 billion (Kim 1999;Lousianin 2001). If such a natural gas development project is realized, it will bethe largest trans-Northeast Asia natural gas pipeline similar to the trans-Europeanpipeline.

Second, China plans to import a large amount of crude oil from Siberia. A

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plan is in place to import 30 million tons of oil per year through a crude oilpipeline, which will be constructed next to the gas pipeline, from the oil fields inEast Siberia's Irkutsk Oblast (Kim 1999: 168). Another plan is to import crude oilfrom the southern region of South Siberia through a pipeline. Russia suggestedconstructing a pipeline to Beijing via Mongolia, but China had insisted onconstructing the pipeline to Daiqing oil fields during the Prime Minister ZhuRongji's visit to Russia (Chosun Ilbo September 10, 2001). When the pipelinereaches China via Daiqing, China will be able to export Russian crude oil to Koreaor Japan through the Dailian port (Lousianin 2001: 37). In any case, the crude oilpipeline will be completed in 2005.

Third, China plans to import 18 billion kWh of electricity per yeargenerated from hydropower generating plants from East Siberian Irkutsk Oblastthrough 2,500 km of wire. This project is estimated to cost US$ 1.5 billion(Izveszija November 3,2000).

Transportation Cooperation

The Suifenhe Transportation Corridor is one of the most representative cases ofcooperation between China and Siberia/Russian Far East. This railwaytransportation corridor runs from Vladivostok, Nakhodka and Vostochny ports inthe Russian Far East, through the Chinese border city of Suifenhe to Harbin, theadministrative center of Heilongjiang Province, and then crosses from Manzhouliin the north-west to Zabaikalsk in Siberia, before linking up with the Trans-Siberian Railway at Chita. It is a route providing Heilongjiang Province access tothe sea-lanes and a link to Korea, Japan and the U.S.A. (Vision for the NortheastAsia Transportation Corridors 2002: 9). However, regarding railway transportationbetween China and Russia, there exists the practical problem of transshipmentdelays at border crossings due to the difference in rail gauges between the twocountries (Kawamura 2002:2).

The following is one of the planned projects proposed by China fortransportation cooperation with Siberia. In October 1996, a project titled "Aboutinterstate development of a new continental bridge and of East-Middle-Asianeconomic zone" was drawn out at the regional level of the Xinjiang AutonomousRegion. According to the project, an economic region (having the geometric formof a triangle) is to be formed including the Altai district of China, East-Kazakhterritory of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Altai and the Altai area of Russia. Basedon the "small triangle," the authors of the project suggested forming a "bigtriangle" with focal points in the cities of Urumchi (China), Aktogai (Kazakhstan),and Barnaul (Russia), as well as making a link with Mongolia in the East and withNovosibirsk in the North, where the "Transsib transport bridge" (i.e., Trans-Siberian railway) is situated. The most important focus of the project is the

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The Relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East 77

building of a railway as the middle zone connecting the two continental railwaybridges (the Transsib and the PRC-Middle Asia railway).

But Russia is in disagreement with China's proposal. According to theRussian scholar Lousianin, Russia should take matters deeply into considerationabout how this project will influence the pattern of migration from China to WestSiberia and the competition between the more low-priced Chinese goods andRussian products (Lousianin 2001:38).

3. CHINA AND SIBERIA/RUSSIAN FAR EAST:POLITICAL SECURITY

Sino-Russian Border Demarcation and the Russian Far East

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the border between China and Russia shrank to4,300km from 7,000km. The issue of the eastern end of the border, from theeastern end of Mongolia and southwest end of Vladivostok has been more or lessresolved in an agreement in May 1991. The 3,700km long border through ArgunRiver, Amur River and Ussuri River and the many islands in the rivers has beennearly resolved by agreeing on the middle mark of the area where ships can travel.According to the Russian ambassador of China, the Sino-Russian border has been"98 percent resolved." The other 2 percent unresolved border includes thepossession of two islands near Khabarovsk (Tabarov and Bol'soj Ussuriskij) andone island in Argun River. Damanskij, which was the site of dispute in 1969, hasbeen decided in favor of China (Glaubitz 1995:789).

However, a new problem developed in the Sino-Russian border dispute.The central governments of China and Russia have agreed to give 15km2 of land inPrimorskij Kraj to China, but the Primorskij Kraj government has been furiouslyagainst it If that part of the land is given to China, China will be able to developthe land as part of the Tumen River Development Project and gain an opening intothe East Sea/Sea of Japan. This situation will more likely pose a security risk toRussia. The Promorskij Kraj government claims that the central governmentoverlooked this fact and relented to the Chinese government during the politicalchaos in the early 1990s. The value of the trans-Siberian railroad would diminishif China were to build a port on the East Sea/Sea of Japan. At the same time, theRussian Far East would lose its attraction as the link, while Northeast China wouldgain popularity as the link between Asia and Europe. As such, the Primorskij Krajgovernment made the people of Kosak move into the 15km2 of the disputed landand unilaterally declared 87km2 as an environmental preservation area (Kim 1999:135). China and Russia conducted a joint survey of the disputed 15km2 but failedto reach a decision to which the land belonged (Asia Yearbook 1999: 190). This is

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the most widely publicized issue in which a regional government in the RussianFar East has overturned an agreement in the central government's policy againstChina. This issue has also made Russia become a hard-liner in border issues withChina. It also drove the two sides from reaching an agreement on the fate of theunresolved three islands. Reflecting on the border issues, conflicts in economiccooperation between China and the Russian Far East still exist and may becomepotential barriers to a more comprehensive cooperation framework.

Immigration of Chinese into the Russian Far East

It is estimated that around 1 to 2 million Chinese live in the Russian Far East.They have immigrated to the region either legally or illegally by means of buyingland, marrying Russians, and forming China towns. The Governor of the RussianFar East Khabarovsk had ordered to ban foreigners from buying land in Russia onJuly 6, 1999, in his meeting with the central government Prime Minister. Heexpressed his fear through a warning that "all of the Russian Far East would bebought out by the Chinese."

The former 'Vice Prime Minister Shakhrai had estimated that the Chinesepopulation of Siberia-Russian Far East could reach 75 percent in 2010. (IzvestijaMay 20,1994). The total population of Siberia/Russian Far East is 31 million, butthe population in the Russian Far East has been steadily declining and hasdwindled to 7.1 million recently (Goskomstat Rossii 2000). Population growthrate between 1991 and 1999 was -9.4 percent, which led to a population decline ofabout 1 million (Internationale Politik April 24,2001). However, the population ofNortheast China is about 100 million (China Annual 1999:114).

The first Chinese who immigrated to the Russian Far East were theagricultural laborers. They came to the Russian Far East under long-termcontracts. For example, there have been more than 300 Sino-Russian cooperativefarms in the Russian Far East Amur Oblast. Most laborers have worked under 30-year contracts, and their families necessarily join them there. Others are short-termlaborers at construction sites and timber yards. In addition, some 40,000 Chinesemigrant farm workers travel to southern Siberia during the harvesting season (Kim1999: 139). The second Chinese migrants were the merchants. Some of themhave established joint ventures in the Russian Far East while the others openedtheir own shops.

Russia feels uneasy about the mass immigration of Chinese people intoRussia either legally or illegally (about 60,000 Chinese violate the immigration lawand thousands of them are deported annually), while the Russian population in theRussian Far East has been sharply decreasing (Moiseev 2000: 11). Furthermore,some believe that Siberia/Russian Far East is virtually being invaded without bloodby the immigration of the Chinese. Although it may be somewhat exaggerated,

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The Relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East 79

there are concerns that Russia may not be able to retain Siberia/Russian Far East inthe future. In particular, the political and social conditions of the Siberia/RussianFar East have been worse than the European Russia, which force its citizens fromleaving the region. On the other hand, China has an enormous population, and itseconomy is expanding rapidly, while other northeast Asian countries are changingrapidly as well. This has been the climate in the Siberia-Russian Far East, which isfar from the central Russia. As the Russian President Putin said, "If we do not takeconcrete action to develop the Far East, people of the region may speak Chinese,Japanese or Korean within a few decades" (Far Eastern Economic Review 29,August 10,2000).

4. CONCLUSION

The relationship between China and Siberia/Russian Far East can be explained intheir cooperative and mutual sharing of resources and their subsumed conflicts instate affairs. China gains natural resources and energy from Siberia/Russian FarEast, while Siberia/Russian Far East secures consumer goods, food and labor to fillits shortage from China. As such, the two regions have an economicallycomplementary relationship. However, they show differences in their interests inissues such as the Tumen River Development Project. If their economiccooperation is the "bright" side of their relationship, there also exists the "dark"side, such as the border disputes between the two. From the perspective ofSiberia/Russian Far East, insecurity is amplified with China's rapid emergence as asuperpower. Siberia/Russian Far East is caught in a dilemma between itsintegration into the rapidly changing Northeast Asian economic zone and itscontinued dependence. As a way to reduce conflict and increase cooperation inNortheast Asia, a multilateral security/economic organization should be soonestablished. A body similar to the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope, a body tentatively called, "Organization for Security and Cooperation inNortheast Asia" is desperately needed to respond to the conflicts between Chinaand Russia. As a preliminary step to the official organization, a "Northeast AsiaSecurity and Cooperation Forum" with participation from both the private sectorand the government should be held. It would be desirable to witness an agreementin Ulaanbaaatar, such as the one in Helsinki, which Europe established in 1975 toconstruct a framework of cooperation. South Korea is believed to be in a betterposition to strongly support the establishment of the "Organization for Security andCooperation in Northeast Asia." It will also be a great help if Mongolia shows itsconcern for the establishment of this organization.

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Woo-junKim

Notes

1 China comprised 38.6 percent of trade by the Russian Far East, while Korea comprised9.1 percent in 1992. However, China's portion decreased to 11.1 percent and Koreaincreased to 11.6 percent in 1994.

2 Regarding reimmigration of Koreans from Central Asia to the Russian Far East and theestablishment of the autonomous region for Koreans in Primorskij Kraj, Russian scholarB. Pavliatenko said the following on behalf of Russia: "It will add to the security ofRussia if a Korean autonomous region is established near autonomous Korean regions inChina and North Korea, such as in Primorskij Kraj. There have been concerns in Russiathat Korea is envisioning a 'Great Korea,' which encompasses these regions."

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