World's Most Expensive Train Ride

After an $80 million bribe a train has finally traveled a few miles across the DMZ into North Korea:

Trains crossed the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone on Thursday for the first rail journey through the border dividing the two Koreas in more than half a century, the latest symbol of historic reconciliation between the longtime foes.The one-time test run of trains through the 2 1/2-mile-wide no man’s land along two restored tracks on the west and east sides of the peninsula comes after repeated delays since the rail lines were linked in 2003 — and despite unresolved tensions over the North’s nuclear weapons.

As all ways you can count on the South Korean uni-fiction minister to describe thing in ethnic terms:

"It is not simply a test run. It means reconnecting the severed bloodline of our people. It means that the heart of the Korean peninsula is beating again," Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said at a ceremony at Munsan station, 7 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone, before boarding the train.

Instead of trying to justify things in ethnic terms in a typical pathetic attempt to appeal to Korea’s homogenuous society, how about Minister Lee justify this one time test run in economic terms?  How the heck do you justify one test run by bribing the North Koreans with $80 million dollars:

Each year since 2004, the two Koreas had agreed to hold the trial runs and had even set a date, but cancelled each time because North Korea’s military did not promise a guarantee of security or safe passage. During the latest round of general-level talks, North Korea insisted it would provide only a one-off security guarantee.

As if it was doing South Korea a huge favor, North Korea got US$80 million worth of raw materials from the South to manufacture shoes, soap and other goods, for allowing one trial run of the reconnected railways.

This is just like the June 2000 Inter-Korean summit where approximately $500 million dollars worth of bribes were paid by the Kim Dae-jung government to secure a photo op with Kim Jong-il and justify the Sunshine Policy.  The Inter-Korean summit was nothing more than the world’s most expensive photo op.  Likewise this news today is simply the world’s most expensive train ride.