Korean Air hopeful on North Korean rapprochement

Korean Air is cautiously optimistic about recent political developments vis-à-vis North Korea, with the easing of tensions helping the general visitor environment for South Korea. Last year saw a rapprochement of sorts between the two Koreas, with summits between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, in addition to a June summit between US president Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore. The warming of ties has generated hopes of increased business activity between the two Koreas – although much progress has yet to be made on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. In response to a reporter’s question about improving conditions on the peninsula, Korean Air CE Walter Cho was reluctant to discuss politics, but welcomesd a less volatile political situation. “As a Korean it's a relief just as it is,” he says. “For the business it's a very good sign. When the tension was at the highest the interest in Korea was the tension, and not Korea itself. People would try to avoid Korea. That was a very critical situation for the 2018 Winter Olympics [in PyeongChang] as well, but fortunately everything became very calm and is going in the right direction. If everything turns out well we'll have a very big opportunity into North Korea.”<br/>