Korea faces dilemma on Arctic routes due to international sanctions on Russia

BUSAN — Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries appears at a loss over how it will help domestic shippers tap into the Arctic shipping route, which was one of the main reasons for the ministry’s relocation to Busan. The ministry on Monday declined to elaborate on how it plans to work with Russia, which is under international sanctions, to enable Korea’s use of Arctic routes, or how it intends to persuade local firms to transport cargo via the North Pole. Although the ministry relocated from Sejong to Busan just six months after President Lee Jae Myung floated the idea, stressing the need to prepare for the era of Arctic shipping, uncertainty still surrounds the ministry’s plan to operate a 3,000-TEU container ship from Busan to Rotterdam via the North Pole in September. “Cooperation with Russia is absolutely crucial for using Arctic shipping routes, as I mentioned during last month’s presidential policy briefing,” acting Oceans Minister Kim Sung-bum told reporters. “However, we cannot disregard the Western bloc’s sanctions on Russia, since Korea is also part of themWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times