Kaesong’s Revival Faces Structural Headwinds as Pyongyang Prioritizes Separation and Russia-Linked Gains
The source assesses that North Korea is unlikely to renew cooperation at the Kaesong Industrial Complex despite renewed interest in Seoul, citing Pyongyang’s shift toward treating inter-Korean ties as hostile state-to-state relations. Asset absorption at Kaesong, information-control concerns, leverage asymmetry, and improved economic alternatives via Russia further reduce incentives for reopening.