Archive for May, 2014

Knowledge sharing SEZ conference held

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

In September 2013 the DPRK held its first conference on economic development zones under the just announced State Economic Development Commission. Read all about it here.

On May 2, 2014, KCNA announced a second conference:

Knowledge Sharing on SEZs in DPRK Held

Pyongyang, May 2 (KCNA) — There took place at Yanggakdo International Hotel on Friday knowledge sharing on SEZs in the DPRK hosted by the Korea Economic Development Association [AKA State Economic Development Commission/Association].

It was attended by Ri Chol Sok, vice-chairman of the association, and its other officials and experts and teachers and researchers at scientific and educational institutions and officials concerned.

Also present there were Kyung-Ae Park, professor at University of British Columbia, Canada, prestigious experts on special economic zones from China, India, Canada, Philippines and the U.S. and foreign diplomatic envoys and representatives of international bodies here and foreign embassy officials.

Ri Chol Sok and Kyung-Ae Park made speeches.

The speakers congratulated those participants on the successful holding of the event and mentioned the importance of the exchange of each other’s experience and cooperation in developing special economic zones and managing and operating them.

They said that the event would help to broaden experts’ vision and expand the development work and also contribute to promoting the international exchange and cooperation.

Then followed speeches.

Introduced at the event were the present situation in some economic development zones of the DPRK and their prospect and policies of preferential treatment and the master plan for Wonsan-Kumgangsan area.

The results of researches and opinions were exchanged and the BOT widely applied to investment and cooperation and the experience gained by various countries in doing so were discussed.

The event marked an occasion in contributing to turning economic development zones of the DPRK into world-level economic cooperation zones by introducing the advanced experience gained in special economic zones according to the specific conditions of the country.

Uriminzokkiri posted this video of Kyung-Ae Park and Yun Yong-sok:

Here is a loose translation of the video:

Q) What were your initial thoughts on the SEZ’s?
A) It is important to differentiate the North’s SEZ’s from those of other countries to make them attractive to investors. For tourism SEZ’s, many experts have recommended minimizing environmental degradation to promote sustainability. 신평 관광개발구 (신평 tourism SEZ) is a good example where sustainable development can help attract tourists who wish to relax and enjoy the environment.

Q) You teach Poli Sci at UBC, how did you get interested in SEZ’s?
A) Faculty exchanges among economics and management experts are often more profitable than academic discussions on political science. Naturally, those who participated in the exchange programs were talking about SEZ’s more often than any other topics.

Q) What are your thoughts on the prospects of the North’s SEZ’s ?
A) I was impressed how the entire country is putting an effort into SEZ projects. This is a very positive aspect, but we need to think about making these SEZ’s more attractive than SEZ’s of other countries.

Here is another translation:

Dr. Park: The key issue of establishing economic development zones (EDZs) is how to make ‘our’ zones distinctive from other countries. In the tourism industry, for example, it has been suggested that simply constructing new buildings, hotels, and condominiums does not offer any competitive advantage because others have been doing the same way. Instead, a better way is to ask ourselves what makes our zones unique so that they could attract people and investment. For North Korea, it is indeed the beauty of the wilderness and untouched nature that makes the country remarkable.

While teaching political science in University of British Columbia, I’ve come to realize that the South-North exchange should first take place in the area where both have mutual interests and the outcome can be mutually beneficial. Exchanges among the political scientists will unlikely be productive; so instead, we have been inviting numerous North Korean professors of economics and business, including those from Kim Il-Sung University, Wonsan University of Economics, and Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies. And this year we are extending our invitation for the fourth time.

Yet, compared to the number of North Korean experts coming to Canada, not many scholars have visited the North from our end as part of an exchange program. While we were considering ways to facilitate an academic exchange at a greater level, we were lucky to get in touch with Korea Economic Development Association (KEDA; aka Chosun Economic Development Committee). We had a meeting on special economic zones last October […] and this was a follow-up meeting after the successful outcome of the first one. Canada-DPRK Knowledge Partnership Program (KPP) organized the event, and KEDA co-hosted the meeting.

Many experts have suggested that more study is needed to make North Korean economic zones distinctive, unique, and attractive. The critical issue remains as to how to attract foreign capital and investment. Despite many challenges North Korea may confront, we believe that passion and diligence of North Koreans will prove fruitful.

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Chinese tourism in Namyang, DPRK

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

Namyang-2013-7

Pictured above: Tumen China (left), Namyang, DPRK (Right)

According to Xinhua:

A border city in northeast China launched Friday bicycle tours to the neighboring Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as tourism to the country booms.

Thirty-five Chinese tourists joined the first self-drive travel by bicycle from Tumen City, Jilin Province, to DPRK’s Namyang city, said organizers. The tourists spent three hours in the DPRK.

The bicycle tour is inexpensive and only needs simple procedures, said an official of the Tumen Tourism Bureau. He said the route is expected to attract more tourists to the DPRK.

Excursions by train from Tumen to the DPRK’s Chilbosan resumed on Wednesday. The tourist train was launched in April 2012, but was later suspended.

Tumen has highway and railway service to the DPRK.

Xinhua also posted this story which offers more context:

Tourism to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is booming in northeast China border cities on the back of multiple travel schemes aimed at boosting the regional economy.

On Friday, Zhao Xin beamed with joy as he joined the first group of cyclists from Tumen City, Jilin Province, to DPRK’s Namyang city.

Tumen, under the jurisdiction of Yanbian, a Korean autonomous prefecture in Jilin, is separated from DPRK by the Tumen River. The cross-border city is linked with DPRK by highways and railways.

Amid high spirits, Zhao, a travel agent from Yanbian, was among thirty-five Chinese tourists in the DPRK, visiting the Namyang Railway Station, Kim Il-sun’ s statue, and enjoying local delicacies in a famous downtown street during a one-day visit.

“The city is quite unique and full of energy,” Zhao told Xinhua, hoping that more DPRK cities would join the list of the travel-by-bicycle initiative so that he could enjoy more sightseeing as well as the local gastronomical culture.

For Chen Boyi, taking a train is a splendid choice to tour the neighboring country. Chen said that her excursion during the Workers’ Day holiday helped unravel some mysteries of DPRK.

“Namyang is very clean and the local people warm-hearted,” Chen, 21, said.

Excursions by train from Tumen to the DPRK’s Chilbosan resumed two days before the bicycle tour program. The tourist train was launched in April 2012, but was later suspended.

The train and bicycle tours are the latest effort to ramp up the cross-border tourism.

In April, the city of Ji’an, Jilin, launched regular tourist trains to Pyongyang, Kaesong and Panmunjom in the DPRK, making it the second city after Dandong in the neighboring Liaoning Province with such services.

In 2013, Tumen city simplified applications for non-local visitors, allowing them to enter the DPRK on the same day they arrive in Tumen.

Meanwhile, the DPRK has opened several cities for group tours from China, including Rason, Namyang, Chongjin and the Mount Kumgang.

The schemes have powered the past few years of tourism boom. About 10,000 tourists from Yanbian alone visit the DPRK annually.

With a variety of travel means, it will be more convenient to visit the DPRK, said Ji Run, a tourist who has just wrapped a visit to the country.

“I would like to come back in the future,” he said.

Yonhap also reports:

North Korea and China have simplified border-crossing procedures for Chinese tourists traveling to the North, China’s state media reported Monday, in another sign that Pyongyang is eager to boost tourism income.

The move allows Chinese people who take tours from China’s border cities in Jilin and Liaoning provinces to get a “travel pass” to North Korea within 24 hours, compared with the previous two days, the state-run China Daily reported.

The report did not elaborate when the simplified procedures took effect, but North Korea started a new one-day tour program last week by opening its border to bicycle tourists from China for the first time.

The newspaper carried a photo of Chinese tourists entering North Korea by taking bicycles from the northeastern city of Tumen in Jilin province to the North Korean border city of Onsong.

Last week, China resumed train operations on a route from Tumen to the North’s northeastern port city of Chongjin, after a year of renovation, the report said.

Zhang Weidong, an official at a Chinese travel agency responsible for the train travel, told the newspaper that more than 2,000 tourists used the train in 2012 before the renovation.

“The number is estimated to rise to 7,000 this year,” Zhang said.

The four-day train trip to North Korea costs about 1,900 yuan (US$304), the report said.

North Korea is one of the world’s most secretive and isolated nations, but since last year, Pyongyang has stepped up efforts to attract foreign tourists, including offering more international and domestic flights.

Read the full stories here:
Chinese city launches bicycle tours to DPRK
Xinhua
2014-5-2

N. Korea, China simplify border-crossing for Chinese tourists
Yonhap
2014-5-5

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DPRK trade with Hong Kong in 2013

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

According to Yonhap:

North Korea increased imports of vehicles and alcoholic beverages from Hong Kong in 2013, despite an overall drop in bilateral trade, a South Korean report showed Thursday.

The trade representative office for Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Hong Kong said Pyongyang spent US$4.36 million to buy vehicles, up 27.5 percent from the year before, a large number of them with over 3-liter engine and seating capacity for more than 10 people.

Cars were the second-largest single product imported by North Korea from Hong Kong after electronic components, the office said.

“The cars were made in other countries and shipped through Hong Kong,” it said.

North Korean imports of alcoholic beverages shot up 51.3 percent last year from 2012, with whiskey and vodka making up the bulk of products shipped. Though liquor products only accounted for 1.4 percent of goods shipped from the former British colony to Pyongyang, its annual growth rate surpassed that of all others last year.

This trend continued into 2014, with North Korea’s purchase of alcoholic beverages soaring 758.8 percent in January and February vis-a-vis the previous year, according to the KOTRA office.

The latest report showed that two-way trade dropped 57.2 percent on-year to $26.99 million, with Hong Kong’s exports falling 53.7 percent. It said no crude oil, grain and fertilizers were shipped to the North.

Imports from North Korea nosedived 87.9 percent to $770,000.

The report showed that in the first two months of this year, Hong Kong’s exports to North Korea was down 67.9 percent on-year, while imports fell 63 percent.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea increases car, liquor imports from Hong Kong in 2013: report
Yonhap
2014-5-1

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