The purpose of this research is to discover an effective solution to managing North Korea's state assets during a temporary separation of the South and North, post-unification of the Korean peninsula. This study will focus on how to manage and liquidate North Korea's real estate and corporate assets and also suggest measures that are necessary during the temporary separation. Unification of the Korean peninsula is indeed one of the greatest ambitions of our people.  However, it is also considered an impending dilemma for both the South and the North. Especially when considering North Korea's unusually distorted economic status, the economic integration of South and North Korea is expected to be a considerable stumbling block.
  As a means to minimize possible confusion caused by the unification of South and North Korea, this study assumes the temporarily separated North Korean region to be the premise for analysis. This study is based on the assumption that with the political integration of the South and North, North Korea is economically separated for a limited period of time. Such an assumption narrows focus on exploring measures to managing and liquidating North Korea's state assets.
  This study consists of three main parts. The first part explores and analyzes the current condition of North Korea's land, housing and corporations. In North Korea, land is established as a socialist possession as a result of post-liberation land reform and post-war agricultural collectivization. By neutralizing the ruling class's economic base and raising poor farmers into yeoman farmers, the land reform achieved the political objective of solidifying Kim Il-Sung's support base and also the economic objective of securing state assets via nationalizing the industry. While rebuilding the country post war, agricultural collectivization was the process of completing socialistic reform and establishing socialistic property relations.
  In North Korea, housing is allocated according to hierarchy and social status. All real estate is defined as state-owned and individual ownership or construction is prohibited. The state built houses and residents were granted rights to use the housing. A characteristic of North Korean housing is that they were constructed through standardization and planned policies rather than a capitalist system, which relies on market economy. As a result, urban areas built mainly apartments while rural areas built mainly townhouses.
  North Korean corporations can be classified into various categories depending on the extent of socialization of production means, management methods and scale. In other words, North Korean businesses are similar to those of South Korea in that they are independently managed enterprises in production, traffic, transportation, distribution, and other economic fields. However, North Korean corporations can be divided into various forms according to the method of classification. That is to say, depending on the extent of socialization of the individual industry, there are state-owned enterprises or cooperative group corporations. And depending on who the management belongs to, they are classified as centrally or locally managed corporations. Corporations may also be classified as a production company or distribution company depending on the level occupied in the rebuilding process. North Korean corporations are created in 'Kombinat' form, which combines interrelated enterprises within a certain district while taking into account the relative effects between industries, availability of mass energy supply and issues of national defense. In addition, they adhere to the principle of industrial site selection, which maximizes use of domestic resources rather than relying on external resources and also show signs of being strategically located in areas that are unrelated to economic efficiency but in consideration of national defense.
  The second part is a case study of the Unification of Germany. In order to minimalize trial and error undergone by Germany during its unification, there was a need for accumulating the capacity for  privatization before the unification took place.  During the early process of privatizing East German assets, Germany had experienced a great hindrance due to insufficient information and understanding of government-owned property and lack of expertise of those in charge at the time. Korea also needs to shape a preliminary investigation plan in order to achieve a systematic accumulation of information on not only North Korea's real estate, but also its state enterprises. To do so pilot projects, such as conducting economic research on specific regions that are relatively inaccessible, are required.
  In the third part, this study presents a road map to managing the state assets of the North Korean region during the temporary separation period. The basic policy recommendations of this study are as follows: first, to revitalize the North Korean economy; second, to enhance efficiency and equity suitable for market economy; and finally, to build a common base for South and North Korean prosperity.   Also, in order to successfully manage and liquidate state-owned assets during temporary separation, a concrete road map of how to manage and liquidate land, housing, and corporate assets will be presented. The following are proposed principles of operation: first, fair valuation of property; second, preferential treatment of North Korean residents; third, contribution to supply funds for unification; fourth, investment support and attraction of foreign investors; fifth, integrated management-based organization.
  This study divides the temporary separation period into three phases for analysis: 'preparation,' 'implementation,' and 'preliminary integration' reflecting the aforementioned policy recommendations and principles of operation. During the 'preparation phase,' relative infrastructure such as consolidated legislation, organizational systems and renationalization must be established for efficient management of assets. During the 'implementation phase' privatization and nationalization of assets will take place over the course of approximately ten years. At the same time, a state asset management program is carried out by exchanging and utilizing human resources from both South and North Korea, drawing on foreign and domestic investments, and operating management funds. During the 'preliminary integration phase,' all privatization processes must be completed, and long-term preparations must take place for the integration of South and North Korean state asset management system through post-management monitoring and liquidation of funds.
  Management of North Korean real estate and corporations has a direct impact not only on the North Korean economy, but also on the economic development of the unified Korea. Hence, this study contributes to the establishment of a government unification preparation policy that can revitalize the reconstruction of the North Korean economy through the following ways: deducing effective management plans for North Korean corporations and real estate to ease the large-scale migration of North Korean residents, minimizing the possible negative impact of inter-Korean economic integration, and establishing a strong foundation for South and North Korea's coexistent development.