SEOUL -- The demilitarized zone that stretches between North and South Korea separates one of the world's most heavily fortified borders, bristling with artillery, tanks and troops.
Despite its strangely bucolic feel, with leafy fields and tour buses rolling to a hilltop observation area, the road to an observation point is lined with military signs warning that the fields are salted with landmines.
Yet all this is changing. Though technically still at war, the two Koreas have agreed to remove all mines and open a severed 20-km stretch of rail between Seoul and the North. This could mean business for the Russian Far East -- if Russia is capable of grasping the opportunities created by the June summit of North and South Korean leaders. Sadly, it is hard to be optimistic.