North Korea, which geopolitically borders with energy heavyweights like China and Russia, was highlighted as a key obstacle for transnational energy projects in Northeast Asia during the 2013 World Energy Congress in Daegu.

In a WEC session Tuesday on energy cooperation in Asia, energy industry leaders proposed an innovative “super-grid” project to build a power grid network in Northeast Asia.

The grid would allow connected countries to transmit power to one another to ease pressure on those facing rising electricity demand. A stable power supply is emerging as a key issue in Northeast Asia, which consumes one-third of global electricity.

Five countries have expressed their interest in the Northeast Asian super-grid vision. Russia, China, and Mongolia have backed the proposal as they can profit by generating electricity inexpensively with fossil fuels and low-carbon renewable resources like hydropower, while natural resource-poor South Korea and Japan have sought the project to secure a stable power supply channel.

“The biggest concern (over the super-grid project in Northeast Asia) is North Korea,” said Stepan Karapetian, a senior director of Russian hydroelectric corporation EN+.

To build a power grid network in the region, North Korea ― located in the center of the region ― has to join the project. But the rogue country hasn’t expressed its stance on the project.

“We can’t transmit power through Wi-Fi, and so, North Korea should be in this mix,” Karapetian said.

Discussion panels were not positive over a plan to circumvent North Korea and to use undersea cables for power transmission as an alternative, due to questions over capacity.

Pingliang Peter Zeng, a senior fellow of China Electric Power Research Institute, predicted that North Korea would consider joining the regional super-grid project in the long term.

“North Korea was unlikely to join the project in the short term due to political concerns, but would seek inclusion in the long run because it faces the same lack of natural resources for energy generation as South Korea and Japan,’’ he said.

In addtion, a Russia-driven, pan-Korea gas pipeline infrastructure building project, aimed to link Russia’s onshore gas pipeline to South Korea via North Korea, has made little progress due to security concerns involving North Korea uncertainties. North Korea has supported the project, expecting profit from rent on land for gas transit.

During his keynote speech in WEC on Wednesday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak assured that Russia will lead transnational energy infrastructure development projects as a country with the largest energy capacity in the world to raise global energy supply. Experts here, however,  have said it is not certain that the South Korean government will be optimistic about the trans-border gas project involving North Korea.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)