Northern Exposure
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland, held a summit meeting on Nov. 9 and agreed on closer cooperation for the development of a “North Pole Route” and the establishment of an inter-governmental policy council. Scheduled to be set up next year, the council is for the two governments to discuss their policy relating to the North Pole.
“We expect that the establishment of the new policy council will lead to further cooperation between Korea and Iceland for the purpose of the development of the North Pole Route,” the Korean government explained, continuing, “At the same time, the North Pole Route, which is a shortcut for connecting Europe and Asia, will be a boon for the realization of our Eurasia Initiative.”
According to the Korean government, the North Pole Route allows the distance between Busan City and Rotterdam, Netherlands to be shortened from 22,000 km to 15,000 km, and the number of days for traveling from one to the other from 40 days to 30. At present, traveling via the North Pole Route is considered to be economically feasible only between July and October. However, the thawing of the North Pole is likely to make it available throughout the year from 2030.