North Korean Economy Watch

According to Yonhap (via Global Post):

Trade between South and North Korea came to virtually zero in May after inter-Korean tensions led to the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex seen as the last symbol of bilateral economic cooperation, the government said Monday.

The volume of inter-Korean trade reached only US$320,000 last month, which accounts for just over 1 percent of the $23.4 million recorded in April, according to the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.

The majority of the May trade represents electricity costs the South spent to maintain the plant facilities in the factory park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, according to the ministry. The South exported about $260,000 worth of electricity while importing $60,000 worth of periodicals from the North last month, the ministry said.

Inter-Korean exchange came to an abrupt halt in mid-April as the North withdrew North Korean workers employed by South Korean firms in the Kaesong industrial zone in protest against South Korea’s joint military drills with the U.S. in March.

The joint factory park made up almost all of the inter-Korean trade as chilly relations cut off other exchanges.

The number of cross-border trips permitted during May came to only seven, the ministry said, adding that they were the last batch of the seven South Korean workers who returned to the South after the closing of the Kaesong complex.

As inter-Korean relations remain frosty, the hiatus in inter-Korean trade is expected to continue, analysts said.

Read the full story here:
Inter-Korean trade comes to almost naught in May
Yonhap (via Global Post)
2013-6-24

38 North has published new satellite imagery of Hwanggumphyong that shows new construction taking place on the island.

We can now identify the groundbreaking ceremony stone, management committee building, electricity infrastructure, and construction equipment.

Check it out here.

Previous posts on Hwanggumphyong and Sinuiju SEZ here.

UPDATE 4 (2014-10-2): North Korea reveals Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourism Zone development blueprints (IFES):

North Korea recently released blueprints for a new tourism zone in the Kangwon area, which is designated as the location for the national goal of developing a global tourist attraction. This area has been officially named as the “Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourism Zone.” The Wonsan District Development Company, an affiliate of North Korea’s Ministry of External Economic Affairs, introduced large-scale development plans for the Wonsan-Tongchon-Mt. Kumgang “tourism belt” to a crowd of over 200 members of the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association (World-OKTA) at an investment forum held in Dalian, China on September 20, 2014.

At the investment forum, North Korean representatives emphasized that the focus city of this project, Wonsan (population 360,000), is merely 1 to 2 hours away from neighbors China and Japan, and is within a three-hour plane ride from over 40 other cities each with populations of over 1 million. The nation anticipates that, provided tourism infrastructure developments are completed according to plan, the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourism Zone could potentially attract up to 1 million visitors annually.

North Korea marked the fourth quarter of 2013 with the opening of the Masikryong Ski Resort and the remodeling of the Songdowon International Children’s Union Camp as iconic projects leading the development of the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang area. Representatives were quoted as saying, “The Masikryong Ski Resort enjoyed incredible popularity during its opening season last winter, attracting more tourists than hotel facilities could accommodate. . . . The Masikryong Ski Resort has become a huge asset to our nation’s tourism industry, capable of entertaining tourists even during the winter off-season.” Increasing hotel and lodging facilities were emphasized as the next most urgent task.

The Masikryong Ski Resort, located 25 kilometers from the city of Wonsan, was introduced as a resort capable of competing in the international market with its 49.6 kilometers of slopes, outdoor ice rink and swimming pools, and hotel accommodations for up to 360 guests. In addition to accommodation facilities for 12,000 people in Wonsan, 7,000 in Tongchon, and 14,000 people in the Mt. Kumgang area, North Korea also revealed plans for new and additional construction of infrastructure facilities in the Wonsan area—including airports, ports, railroads, roads and electricity—and for expansion of recreational facilities such as golf courses and casinos.

More specifically, construction is planned for a large-scale airport in the Kalma (Galma) Peninsula area of Wonsan which will be able to accommodate thousands of passengers per day [Learn more here and here]. Once completed, foreign tourists will be able to visit the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang zone directly, with no need to pass through Pyongyang. While the most important project is to repair and expand the roadways connecting inner Wonsan with the Masikryong Ski Resort, Ullim Waterfall, Sokwangsa and Mt. Kumgang areas, North Korea also plans to construct or remodel service facilities within inner Wonsan such as hotels, exhibition centers, athletic facilities, and other business and commerce services necessary to satisfying the needs of tourists.

Overseas investors’ requests to visit the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourism Zone for inspection and consulting can be processed within ten days, and North Korea is planning to invite potential investors to an on-site investment briefing to be held in April 2015.

UPDATE 3 (2014-7-29): According to the Pyongyang Times:

Thongchon to be developed as tourist zone

A project is to be launched to develop an international tourist zone in Thongchon County, Kangwon Province, which has lots of tourist resources.

The project is part of the development plan for the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Zone, according to a decree released on June 11 by the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

Thongchon County is situated 52 km south of Wonsan, the capital city of Kangwon Province.

The county boasts Chongsokjong—a group of basaltic stone columns which is known as one of the eight scenic beauties in the northeastern part of Korea, four picturesque lakesides, six sand beaches, nine scenic sites and a treatment mud resource of over 3 280 000 cubic metres.

The tourist zone area covers well over 9 000 hectares.

Tourist facilities for sea bathing and boating will be added to Chongsokjong so that visitors could enjoy sightseeing day and night.

Accommodation facilities with a capacity of over 5 600 people are to be built in the area of Lake Tongjong while the Lake Sijung area will turn into a health and treatment hub with an accommodation capacity of over 1 000 people and a sanatorium equipped with health and fitness facilities.

Detailed plans are being mapped up.

UPDATE 2 (2014-6-12): KCNA has formally announced the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Zone:

Pyongyang, June 12 (KCNA) — The world-class Masikryong Ski Resort and Songdowon International Children’s Camp were successfully built and areas of Wonsan, Ullim Falls, Sokwang Temple and Thongchon are being peculiarly spruced up as cultural recreation grounds for people in Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang area under the wise guidance of the Workers’ Party of Korea. Koreans and world people are showing ever-growing expectation and interest in world famous Mt. Kumgang and other scenic spots. 

The DPRK decided to set up Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Zone in Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang area in Kangwon Province to reenergize the international tour of scenic spots in the area of Wonsan and scenic spots on the east coast now in the process of turning into world famous tourist destinations.

The international tourist zone includes areas of Wonsan, Masikryong Ski Resort, Ullim Falls, Sokwang Temple, Thongchon and Mt. Kumgang.

The Wonsan area comprises some parts of Wonsan City and Anbyon County, the ski resort area includes some parts of Wonsan City and Popdong County, the area of Ullim Falls comprises some parts of Munchon City and Chonnae County, the area of Sokwang Temple includes some parts of Kosan County, the Thongchon area comprises some parts of Thongchon County and the area of Mt. Kumgang includes the international tourist special zone and some parts of Kosong County and Kumgang County.

The DPRK law on Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Special Zone, the law on economic development zone and the laws related to foreign investment are applied to the relevant areas and objects in the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Zone.

The DPRK decided to increase new tourist destinations, depending on the progress made in the development of the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Zone and tour.

The Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly promulgated a relevant decree on June 11.

UPDATE 1 (2013-6-27): The JoongAng Ilbo claims to have a North Korean document called “General blueprint for the Wonsan District”. This document has not been made public, so I cannot vouch for its authenticity or content. However, as reported in the paper, the contents seem fairly congruent with established facts.

According to the article:

According to a document entitled “General blueprint for the Wonsan District” obtained exclusively by the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday, North Korea is in the process of constructing three special districts in Wonsan: a financial district, an entertainment and sports area and a tourist destination.

The report says Kim is planning to develop Songdowon Beach in Wonsan into a holiday destination for summers and a ski resort on Mount Masik for winters. Mount Masik is about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Wonsan.

…

Sources in Seoul say the plan to develop the eastern naval city was actually his father’s.

In fact, in the transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit that was declassified Monday, Kim told former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun that “Wonsan is a holiday destination,” rejecting Roh’s proposal to develop the city into an industrial park like the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

“Wonsan is a bay,” Kim said. “Waste comes into the bay and it can’t be properly managed because of Masik Mountain behind the city. So we will shut down all of the factories and shipyards in Wonsan right away.”

Sources said Jong-un might have decided to turn the city into a tourist resort based on the Kumgang resort, which was jointly run with the South but has been closed since July 2008.

“In Wonsan, there are a series of heavy industry factories, such as automobile plants and shipyards,” a source said. “But North Korea has a plan to close the aging factories and turn the city into a resort.”

Sources told the JoongAng Ilbo in March that North Korea appeared to have moved their MiG jet fighters from an airfield in Wonsan to a frontline unit in Kuup. They also reportedly shut down some factories in the city.

Still, the plan obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo didn’t elaborate on the length of construction or the cost.

“North Korea is hoping to lure investment of more than $1 million from a company in Singapore [for the project],” the source said. “Completion of the project relies on whether they attract foreign investment.”

North Korea has already started construction at Mount Masik, starting with a ski slope, three lifts, an office for ski rentals and a hotel. In phase two, it will build a larger slope, a gas station and a golf course.

ORIGINAL POST (2012-2-24): North Korea planning special economic zone in Wonsan and Mt. Kumgang regions
Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)

North Korea announced plans to develop a special tourism zone in the Mount Kumgang region and recently established detailed plans to connect five countries in the Northeast Asian region by land, sea and air routes. In particular, it specified construction plans for the Tongchon Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tongchon County of Kangwon (Gangwon) Province.

Currently, there are four SEZs in North Korea: Rajin-Sonbong (Rason) SEZ, Hwanggumpyong SEZ, the Kaesong Industrial Complex, and Mt. Kumgang Tourism Zone. Tongchon will be a special case where a free economic trade zone will be located within the Mt. Kumgang Tourism Zone linking the areas of Wonsan and Mt. Kumgang.

Growing attention is being paid to the “Tongchon Special Economic Zone in the Mt. Kumgang Tourism Zone.” Industrial service facilities will be built in the Tongchon SEZ along the coastline including, “comprehensive industrial, merchandise, and communication service center zone,” “international multipurpose building zone,” “international finance, trade, and business center,” and a golf course.

Construction inland is currently underway for regular and high-tech industrial complexes in the following areas: IT, LCD, and electronics; home electronics; automobile; new energy and environmental protection; and biomedical and breeding.

Tongchon Port is equipped to accommodate 100,000-ton vessels and there are plans of constructing beaches, a marine park, hot springs, and luxury hotels, and vacation homes in the vicinity.

According to a five-page blueprint for the “Choson Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang Development Plan” (in Chinese), North Korea has set 10 million tourists per year as its goal and is preparing to attract large investment of over 10 billion USD over the next ten years.

Although it is unclear who has prepared the blueprint, it is most likely that North Korea has prepared the plan in Chinese to promote the SEZ internationally. North Korea recently distributed briefing materials in Chinese at the 7th China Jilin-Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo (JNIT), which was held last September.

The report included plans of constructing Wonsan International Airport at an estimated cost of 150 million USD.

The ten-year development plan is further divided into three periods: October 2011 to December 2013 (short-term); 2014 to 2016 (mid-term); and 2017 to 2020 (long-term).

In addition, the report included the detailed plans of road and facility renovations. The Pyongyang-Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang highway that stretches 310 km will be renovated with investments worth around 150 million USD. A four-lane highway will also be added. The seaside areas of Wonsan and Mt. Kumgang and the tourism zone will be reconstructed with major facilities and electricity worth 10 billion USD and a new town is also being designed to accommodate a population between 800,000 and 1 million people.

The report “Establishment of International Travel between Mt. Kumgang and Five Countries in Northeast Asia” included details of 18 air routes from Beijing, Changchun, and Shenyang to Wonsan International Airport; 8 sea routes to Nampo Port and the routes from South Korea, Japan, Russia, and the Northern Pacific rim using the port in Mt. Kumgang. In addition, a land route connecting Dandong of China to Mt. Kumgang is also included in the plan, via Shinuiju.

It is designed to develop Mt. Kumgang into an international tourism zone making it accessible by land, sea, and air transportation to South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan.

Specifically, Niigata Port of Japan, Vladivostok Port of Russia, and Jeju, Busan, and Sokcho Ports of South Korea were mentioned as the major ports for the sea travel to North Korea.

Travelers from China will be connected to Mt. Kumgang by rail (from Wonsan to Mt. Kumgang) and by sea (from Rajin-Sonbong Port to Mt. Kumgang Port).

Interestingly, no land route was designated for travel from South Korea. The previously used Donghae Line to travel from Kosung to Mt. Kumgang by road and railroad was omitted from the plan.

Additional information:

1. Check out previous posts on the DPRK’s “Law on Economic Development Zones“.

2. You can read about the DPRK’s plans for a new Wonsan International Airport in this article and in this article with James Pearson.

Read the full story here:
North is building ski, beach resorts in Wonsan
JoongAng Daily
2013-6-27

According to Yonhap:

Trade between South and North Korea tumbled last month after the North shut down the jointly run industrial park in its border town of Kaesong, government data showed Tuesday.

The monthly inter-Korean trade volume came to US$23.43 million in April, down 88 percent from $194.27 million recorded the previous month, according to the data from the Ministry of Unification in charge of inter-Korean affairs.

The April figure is almost similar to the average monthly trade volume of $23.94 million registered in 1995.

In early April, the North banned the entry of South Korean workers and materials into the Kaesong Industrial Complex and withdrew all North Korean workers employed by South Korean firms there in protest against Seoul’s joint military exercises with the U.S. in March.

…

Trade between the two countries, which remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, had steadily increased since late in the 1980’s to register an annual record of $1 billion in 2005.

Read the full story here:
Tnter-Korean Trade Tumble
Yonhap
2013-5-21

A much-appreciated colleague has sent me a PDF document published by the DPRK’s Committee for the Promotion of External Economic Cooperation in 2003. It that contains hundreds of pages of DPRK laws and regulations.

Click here to open the PDF document

Here is a list of the contents:

1. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Foreign Investment

2. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Equtiy Joint Venture

3. Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Equity Joint Venture

4. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Contractual Joint Venture

5. Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Contractual Joint Venture

6. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Foreign Exchange Control

7. Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Foreign Exchange control

8. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Foreign-Invested Bank

9. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the Leasing of Land

10. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Foreign-Invested Business and Foreign Individual Tax

11. Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Foreign-Invested Business and Foreign Individual Tax

12. The Customs Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

13. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the Protection of Environment

14. The Insurance Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

15. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on External Economic Arbitration

16. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on External Civil Relations

17. The Notary Public Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

18. The Civil Proceedings Act of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

19. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Processing Trade

20. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Bankruptcy of Foreign-Invested Enterprises

21. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

22. The Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises

23. Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises

24. Regulations on the Financial Management of Foreign Invested Enterprises

25. Regulations on the Introduction of Latest Technologies by Foreign-Invested Enterprises

26. Regulations on the Naming of Foreign-Invested Enterprises

27. Regulations on the Registration of Foreign-Invested Enterprises

28. Labor Regulations for Foreign-Invested Enterprises

29. Regulations on the Resident Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

30. Regulations on Entrepot Trade in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

31. Regulations on Contract Construction in th Rason Economic and Trade Zone

32. Regulations on Forwarding Agency in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

33. Regulations on Statistics in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

34. Regulations on Tourism in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

35. Regulations on Financial Management of Foreign-Invested Enterprises in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

36. Regulations on Foreigner’s Immigration Procedure and Stay in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

37. Customs Regulations For the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

38. Regulations on Finding in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
2013-3-21

North Korea announced that it has instituted a new law to begin levying tax in the Mount Kumgang Tourist Zone which has been — until now — a tax-free zone. In addition, a personal protection regulation for tourists was also added to its tourism regulations. North Korea has been modifying laws pertaining to the Mt. Kumgang area in order to develop it as a special tourism zone.

Last week, Yonhap News reported that it had obtained from North Korea a book that was released last November on North Korea’s laws and regulations on international economic policy. According to the book, North Korea adopted in June 2012 a new tax regulation for the Special Zone for International Tour of Mount Kumgang. The law was passed by the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

The new tax regulation stipulated that any companies or individuals (foreigners and oversees Koreans) who conduct business transactions or make profit from the Special Zone for International Tour of Mount Kumgang are subjected to tax.

The business income tax applied in the Mount Kumgang zone are on average about 14 percent of one’s yearly profit (infrastructure projects including airport, railways, roads, and port construction only pay 10 percent) and individual income tax ranges from 5 to 30 percent when monthly income is 300 euros (approximately 430,000 KRW).

The tax regulation also covers property, inheritance, transaction, business, and local tax. This comes as a subordinate law under the Special Law for International Tourism in Mount Kumgang, which was enacted in May 2011 and subsequently revoked the monopoly rights of Hyundai Asan.

As such, this law likely will impact South Korean investment in the Mount Kumgang tourism industry.

In the past, working closely with Hyundai Asan, North Korea designated the tourist area as a tax-free zone. There were also no separate laws regarding the levying of taxes on foreigners except for South Korean tourists, who were required to pay 50 USD per person.

In the ‘Tourism Regulations of Mount Kumgang International Tourism Zone,’ a clause was added that specified the special travel bureau for international tourism was responsible for the protection of personal safety and property of tourists in Mount Kumgang. The special travel bureau for international tourism is under the jurisdiction of the Guidance Bureau of the Special Zone of Mount Kumgang International Tourism.

North Korea’s decision to insert a clause ensuring the safety of tourists is likely due to the fact that this issue has continually been raised as a main concern since the death of a South Korean tourist in the zone in July 2008 and subsequent halt of inter-Korean cooperation in the Mount Kumgang project.

In addition to the new tax and tourism regulations, North Korea also made new regulations pertaining to the foundation and management of enterprises; customs; access, visitation, and housing; insurance, and environmental protection, among others.

According to the New York Times:

At the Red Sun restaurant, a short-order joint on Crab and Beer Streets, live crabs with plump legs wriggle in a cooled tank, fresh from the North Korean coast just two and a half hours away by road.

The cook and owner, Jin Yuansheng, douses the prized crabs in boiling water and adds them to the steaming platters of sea cucumbers, shrimp and squid, also from North Korean waters, that he brings to the table.

This border town in China’s cold and poor northeast abuts North Korea along the icy Tumen River, where a bridge serves as the gateway for a lively commerce in shellfish plumbed from the Sea of Japan off North Korea. It is an exotic niche business in the more than $11 billion annual trade between North Korea and China, which is dominated by China’s purchases of cheap North Korean iron ore and coal.

…

By encouraging trade with North Korea, China aims to prevent North Korea’s government from collapsing, an outcome that could result in a Korean Peninsula allied to the United States. And business with North Korea serves a domestic goal: it helps employment and incomes in needy Jilin Province, where an estimated two million ethnic Koreans live.

That is where the crabs come in. Scooped from 3,000-foot-deep waters by trawlers crewed by North Korea workers, they are first taken to the North Korean port of Rason, a special enterprise zone serving foreign investors and largely financed by China. The crabs are trucked in ice to the Chinese border town of Quanhe, and then brought to the market in Yanji, or flown to cities across China as a delicacy for the affluent.

“Getting the crabs here is a delicate operation,” said Mr. Jin. “If they are too hot en route, they can die, and if they are too cold, they can freeze to death.”

…

For Chinese traders, importing crab is a lucrative business. They sell not only to upscale restaurants around China, but also to banquet organizers. The sales pitch stresses what is called the purity of the waters around impoverished North Korea compared with the more polluted seas around industrialized Japan and South Korea.

“The fishermen capture the crab deep down, so it is high quality,” said Qu Baojie, whose company imports crab from Rason. “South Korea and Japan can’t compete.”

His crab, branded as Crab Earth, Crab Heaven, is featured at the buffet of the Golden Jaguar, a fashionable Beijing restaurant, and is sold in red boxes suitable for business gifts, he said.

The fishing operations in Rason, an ice-free port that gives year-round sea access to China’s northeastern provinces, work fairly smoothly, Mr. Qu said. Fishing trawlers equipped with South Korean gear ply the waters at night, returning to shore about 4 a.m.

Their catches are then transferred to a state-owned plant where some crabs are packed live and others are processed, he said. About 300 North Korean workers are employed during the peak September to December fishing season. Fishing during the breeding season of June to September is banned, he said.

His crab business flourishing, he recently bought a new processing factory in Yanji, Mr. Qu said.

Some of the crab meat was vacuum packed in clear plastic, and sold to other Chinese traders, who in turn dispatched it to the United States, he said. The brand name of North Korean crab meat sold in the United States? “They slap on their own brands,” he said of the American buyers.

Read the full story here:
Caught in North Korea, Sold in China, Crabs Knit Two Economies
New York Times
Jane Perlez
2013-3-4

According to Reuters:

While Beijing has not made clear whether the test would disrupt its investment plans for the Rason economic zone, an official at the zone’s joint management office told Reuters that all previously announced Chinese projects for the zone remain on track, including a power line from China to ease acute electricity shortages there.

“All the people of the management office are still here working as usual… If there is any major impact (from the nuclear test), do you think we would still be here?” he said by phone from Rason, which lies near where North Korea, China and Russia converge. “All works are proceeding as planned.”

There are about 60 Chinese and North Korean people working at the management office, and the number may grow with the launch of more projects, said the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

China and North Korea jointly set up the Rason management committee in October to handle the planning, construction and development of the zone, also known as Ranjin-Songbong, one of the country’s highest profile economic projects.

…

“China has normal relations with North Korea. We will conduct normal trade and economic exchanges with North Korea,” Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, said when asked whether China would continue to work with North Korea to develop its special economic zones after the nuclear test.

…

Led by China’s commerce ministry, Chinese firms, including State Grid Corp, Jilin Yatai (Group) and China Railway Construction Group and other state enterprises, have indicated interest in investing in power, building materials, transport and agriculture projects in the zone.

Yatai, a Shanghai-listed cement and coal producer, signed a framework agreement last year with the North Korean government to construct a 500,000-square-metre building materials industrial park, including a cement plant, in Rason.

State Grid finished the final review of the feasibility study of the 97.8-kilometre power line early this year, but has not started construction as it has not yet won all approvals, the official and a source close to the plan said.

The planned line would cut through a Siberian tiger natural reserve, and State Grid is awaiting a green light from China’s National Development and Reform Commission and coordinating with various other authorities, the source told Reuters.

There is no timetable for the project as State Grid is unsure when it would receive government approvals, he added. State Grid was not immediately available for comment.

Jilin Yatai may delay its cement project in Rason — which is critical to the construction of other projects such as the railway there — due to “issues on the North Korean side,” said an official at Yatai’s securities office.

But the likely delay of the project was not related to the nuclear test, the official said by phone from Changchun, capital city of Northeast China’s Jilin province, which borders North Korea. He declined further comment.

In a filing with the Shanghai bourse in August, Yatai said it planned to complete the construction of its first cement plant in North Korea by September this year only if there is sufficient power capacity available.

Read the full story here:
China moves ahead with North Korea trade zone despite nuclear test
Reuters
2013-2-28

According to Yonhap:

China is expected to start supplying electricity to North Korea’s special economic zone in June as part of their joint development efforts there, a news report said Tuesday.

China-based Yangbian Internet Radio said the Chinese city of Hunchun, which is close to the border with the North, will make efforts to establish joint economic projects, including the electricity supply plan.

The news outlet said preparations for the plan to supply electricity to the Rason Special Economic Zone, located in the northern tip of North Korea, will be complete in June. The Chinese city also plans to build a bridge and road.

Since last year, Chinese media outlets have said the supply plan marks the first case of China’s state-run electricity agency providing electricity to a foreign nation and aims to help build up infrastructure in the North Korean special zone.

Experts said China may continue its economic cooperation projects in the North’s east coast region as they are part of the country’s efforts to secure a commercial stronghold in the East Sea despite rising tension over the North’s Dec. 12 nuclear test.

Read the full story here:
China to start electricity supply to Rason economic zone in N. Korea
Yonhap
2013-2-19

According to Yonhap:

Despite rising cross-border tension, the trade between South and North Korea reached a record high last year, government data showed Saturday.

The volume of trade between the two Koreas reached US$1.97 billion in 2012, inching up from the previous record of $1.91 billion in 2010, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.

South Korean products worth $896.26 million were shipped to North Korea, up 13.4 percent from the previous year.

The amount of products that came here from the North jumped 19.3 percent on-year to $1.07 billion, according to the data.

A total of 99 percent of the volume was shipped through a land route linked to the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North’s border town of Kaesong.

Read the full story here:
Inter-Korean trade hits record high in 2012
Yonhap
2013-2-9