According to the Donga Ilbo:
Members of the credit rating agency under the Export-Import Bank of China are known to have visited North Korea around the “Day of the Sun” on April 15, otherwise known as the birthday of the Stalinist country`s founder Kim Il Sung.
A source in Beijing said, “Around 10 people from the Export-Import Bank of China made a 10-day trip to North Korea ahead of the Day of the Sun. They not only visited Pyongyang but also other cities.”
The agency provides sovereign credit ratings for countries around the world. Critics say the members visited the North to seek further economic cooperation, adding their trip holds more meaning than attending the holiday event because they also visited other cities.
Another source in Beijing said, “The Chinese government is mulling financial benefits including no-interest loans to Chinese companies investing in the [North’s] city of Rason.”
Beijing seems to be preparing to invest in the Hunchun-Rason area near the Tumen River and Dandong-Sinuiju’s Hwanggeumpyong region near the Yalu River, where Pyongyang-Beijing economic cooperation is vital.
Read the full story here:
China`s Exim Bank delegation visited N. Korea last month
Donga Ilbo
2011-5-9
