North Korean Economy Watch

38 North
Andray Abrahamian
2011-8-29

A bus bumps and bruises its way along the unpaved road, carrying would-be investors to Rason’s First Rason International Trade Exhibition which ran from August 21-25, 2011, in Sonbong. The windows are open, until a crimson humvee barrels past, its powerful suspension dancing on the road, leaving behind a plume of beige dust. The bus windows snap shut, the still air quickly gets hot and more than one of the passengers wishes we were Chinese high-rollers, being whisked to the Emperor Casino and Hotel, which sits beautifully on Korea’s East Sea, overlooking Bipa Island and flanked by lush green mountains and crystal waters.

The passengers of the humvee-part of the casino’s fleet-will long be checked in and gambling their fortunes away by the time we complete our two and a half hour journey. However, it won’t always be this way. Rason’s 50km road to the border is finally being upgraded. Indeed, the 2.5 hour journey took 3.5 hours in June. Since then, the road has been widened, the first stage of the construction plan, allowing for traffic to flow both directions more easily and smaller passenger vehicles to overtake the more cumbersome truckers who ply the road.

Its construction is an important sign in the development of the Rason Special Economic Zone. Rason, an amalgamation of the names of the area’s two biggest cities, Rajin and Sonbong, could theoretically be a vibrant hub for both logistics and manufacturing. It is located in the far Northeast of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, bordering Russia and China. It has abundant, cheap labor and the region’s northernmost ice-free port. It has been a legal entity since the early 1991, but has struggled to reach its potential in the face of ambivalence from Pyongyang and difficult geopolitical circumstances.

Local administrators have bold plans for this experiment in economic opening-up and to develop as the Rason Municipal People’s Committee has imagined, an efficient road link with China’s Northeastern provinces is vital. For about a decade, improvements to the road have been “under discussion” and “coming soon,” but it is now undeniably underway. Work began in May of this year…READ MORE HERE

According to Yonhap:

North Korea unveiled Sunday its business plans to redevelop a troubled mountain resort in the isolated country, after seizing South Korean properties in the complex once considered a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation.

The move is expected to further deepen the dispute over the resort at Mount Kumgang, with South Korea vowing to take all possible measures, including legal action with an international tribunal, against the North’s decision to “legally dispose” of Seoul-owned assets there.

The business plans were presented to Yonhap News Agency by Park Chol-su, head of Daepung International Investment Group, which serves as a window to North Korea to attract foreign capital.

Daepung invited this week a group of foreign business executives and journalists to the resort to explain the business plans. During the four-day trip beginning Sunday, the group will visit Mount Kumgang via ship after departing from the northeastern port city of Rason.

The plans call for North Korea to redevelop the resort into an international tourist and business zone by building golf courses and hosting casinos from China and Western nations.

Using a railway linking Beijing to Pyongyang and the resort, North Korea plans to attract tourists from the United States, Japan, China and Hong Kong, Park said.

The North is also seeking to run tours linking Rason and Mount Kumgang by ferry, with an eye to woo Chinese tourists.

Under the first-stage plan, the North’s state agency will build energy and electricity facilities at an area of 60 square meters in the resort and let foreign business partners develop part of the area with their own projects, Park said.

North Korea plans to collect taxes from foreign partners to operate their facilities, according to Park. The area will be open to foreigners, but remain off-limits to ordinary North Koreans.

Additional Information:

1. According to the JoongAng Ilbo, the ship that will be used to ferry travelers from Rason to Kosong (Changjon) is the Mangyongbong 92. The ship will have to use a dock built by Hyundai-Asan. Hyundai is known to have spent around 170 billion won ($157,000) on the pier and the roads linking the pier to the resort.

2. The Daily NK adds a few additional details on the investment zone.

3. A timeline of Kumgang events, from the shooting until today, can be found here.

Read the full story here:
N. Korea unveils business plans for troubled mountain resort
Yonhap
2011-8-28

Pictured above: North Korean visitors to Kumgangsan wave to the camera in this video posted to Uriminzokkiri’s YouTube page.  The Video is dated 2011-8-20.

According to the Donga Ilbo:

North Korea has reportedly opened the Mount Kumgang resort to its nationals since April after having allowed only a select few to visit the scenic area before with permission.

Pyongyang apparently intends to pressure Seoul by opening the door to the mountain to the North Korean people after failing to attract foreign investment and tourists to the resort.

A Chinese source on North Korea said Tuesday, “North Korea effectively allowed all North Koreans from April to visit the entire Mount Kumgang area, including major rivers in the region.”

North Korea, however, allows only group tourists and not individual visits. North Korean authorities have ordered companies and businesses to visit the site for company picnics or events, and the mountain has 4,000 to 5,000 visitors per month.

A business unit that wants to visit files an application with the provincial government, which then reports to the international tourist authorities of Mount Kumgang. After screening candidates, authorities issue a tourist certificate that allows holders to pass checkpoints on the way to the mountain.

Two days are generally needed to travel the region, and visitors use the accommodation facility called Kumgangsan that can handle 500 people per day. The source said rooms are in short supply because of many visitors.

Each visitor should cover his or her own expenses. The estimated cost is around 1,700 North Korean won (1.43 U.S. dollars) for entry and 19 cents per night, so the combined expense amount is 2,500 to 3,000 North Korean won (2.10 to 2.53 dollars).

The source said, “The expenses almost equal a month`s salary but the popularity (of going to Mount Kumgang) has surprised everyone.”

Speculation is rising over whether the North will use South Korean real estate and equipment belonging to Hyundai Asan Corp., the South Korean operator of the tour, and others. Pyongyang announced Monday that it will dispose of South Korean assets and properties in the resort area.

“North Korea has not yet used any South Korean facilities but has apparently used them for local tourists,” the source said.

Also, according to KCNA, at least one Chinese tour group has visited the resort since July 30:

Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) — A Chinese tourist group led by Zhuang Jun, general manager of the Chinese Kanghui Xi’an International Tourist Agency, visited the Tower of the Juche Idea, Party Founding Memorial Tower, Pyongyang Students and Children’s Palace and Mangyongdae, President Kim Il Sung’s native place, in Pyongyang on Friday and Saturday.

The tourist group came to Pyongyang by the Pyongyang-Xi’an international air service.

Yang Rui, manager of the agency, told KCNA:

I was pleased to see an excellent performance of Korean schoolchildren. I hope they will perform in Xi’an. I have long looked forward to visiting Mt. Kumgang. In the afternoon we are leaving for the mountain. I will be happy to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountain.

Read about the continuing troubles at Kumgang from the shooting to the present day here.

Read the full story here:
N.Korea allowed its people to visit Mount Kumgang from April
Donga Ilbo
2011-8-24

By Michael Rank

No money was paid for the freeing of a Dutch stamp dealer who went missing in North Korea and is now back home after signing a confession, a local radio and television station reports (in Dutch).

RTV Utrecht said Willem van der Bijl had spent two weeks in solitary confinement in North Korea and that officials had closely examined his laptop and had detailed records of his previous visits to the country.

According to a purported interview van der Bijl gave to the Pyongyang Times before his arrest, this was his 24th visit to North Korea. He visited a polling station during last month’s elections and was quoted as saying, “Looking round the poll, I have been greatly impressed by the free and democratic elections and I have had a better understanding of the DPRK’s reality.

“In the DPRK every citizen is eligible to vote and to be elected. Those who have worked a lot for the people are elected as deputies.

“The popular election system of the DPRK is really excellent.”

Surprisingly, van der Bijl is shown wearing a Kim badge in a photograph of him on the Pyongyang Times website. It’s rare for foreigners to be given a Kim badge and still rarer for them to be shown wearing one in the official North Korean media. It’s not clear where the photo was taken.

It isn’t entirely clear why he was arrested but part of the problem at least was that some of the photographs he had taken were deemed “dangerous and inappropriate,” Coen de Keuster, a friend of van der Bijl, told RTV Utrecht.

Two North Korean contacts of van der Bijl remain missing and are believed to remain in custody. The two North Koreans are said to have worked for him from an office in the city of Pyongsong [Pyeongseong], which is about 30 km northeast of Pyongyang, and has, or had, the country’s largest wholesale market. The market is reported to have been closed in 2009 but the closure could have been only partial. It is possible van der Bijl bought, or hoped to buy, stamps or other items in the market. He apparently also collects North Korean propaganda posters. Markets are highly sensitive in North Korea and foreigners are generally banned from visiting them.

On his website van der Bijl, who is from Utrecht, says he is “#1 in the World for North Korean stamps. Proofs, Postal stationary,Artwork and anything else you might think of !!”

RTV Utrecht said van der Bijl, 59, was not speaking to the media for fear of further jeopardising his North Korean contacts. There was no reply when NKEW tried to phone him, and a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman declined to answer questions about the case, confirming only that the stamp dealer had returned home.

The Dutchman was supposed to return home on July 30 and his family and friends raised the alarm when he did not arrive. He finally arrived back in Utrecht last Saturday.

In his Pyongyang Times interview he was quoted as saying, “I will come to the DPRK in 2012 to join the Korean people commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung”, but it’s not clear whether he still wants to go back or whether he would still be welcome in North Korea.

Pictured above: (L) Mangyongbong-92 in the Wonsan Harbor. (R)  American Budweiser Beer and dried fish served on the Mangyongbong-92

UPDATE 3 (2013-2-26): The Singaporean ship,  Royale Star, has been delivered to Rajin to handle tourist cruises. According to Google Earth imagery (2012-9-21), the Mangyongbong-92 has been returned to its primary port in Wonsan.

UPDATE 2 (2011-9-3): The Telegraph and ITN (UK) put together a humorous take on the cruise here.

UPDATE 1  (2011-8-31): According to the Associated Press:

The maiden voyage — a trial run — arrived Wednesday, carrying dozens of Chinese travel agents, international media and North Korean officials.

About 500 North Koreans lined up with military precision at the Rason port for a red carpet send-off Tuesday, waving small flags and plastic flowers while revolutionary marches such as “Marshal Rides a White Horse” blared over the loudspeakers. Streamers swirled and balloons spiraled skyward.

The Mangyongbong, a refurbished Japanese-built cargo ship with rusty portholes and musty cabins, was used for the 21-hour overnight cruise tracing the length of North Korea’s east coast. Some passengers slept on wooden bunkbeds while others were assigned mattresses on the floor. Simple meals were served cafeteria-style on metal trays.

A plaque on board commemorated a 1972 tour of the boat by North Korea’s founder, late President Kim Il Sung, and bright red posters emblazoned with his sayings decorated the walls.

Park promised a “more luxurious” ship capable of carrying up to 900 passengers, perhaps next year. He said the goal is to bring as many as 4,000 visitors a day from Rason to Mount Kumgang during the peak summer season, up from some 500 per week now.

“People from any country — Jamaica, Japan, Singapore, people from various countries — can come to Rason and don’t require a visa,” said Rason’s vice mayor, Hwang Chol Nam. “That’s the reality.”

But other restrictions remain. Hwang said visitors must book with approved travel agents and remain in their guides’ company throughout. Mobile phones must be left behind in China.

…

It remains to be seen how many Chinese tourists will be interested in the new tours. With incomes rising, Chinese are traveling abroad in rising numbers, thronging tour groups to Europe, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, with a small but growing number making the short trip to neighboring North Korea.

A rush of American visitors is unlikely. A long-standing U.S. State Department travel warning says North Korea strictly monitors visitors and harshly punishes law-breakers and reminds Americans that the two countries do not have diplomatic relations.

A senior South Korean official said North Korea would have trouble drawing investors and tourists after the way the North dealt with South Korean businesses.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry plans to send a letter to foreign embassies asking them not to cooperate with any new Diamond Mountain tours offered by North Korea, said the official, who spoke on condition that his name was not used.

North Korea’s latest moves are likely to upset Hyundai — but that might be the strategy of Pyongyang officials riding out conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s leadership, which ends next year, said Yoon Deok-ryong, an economist at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul.

“If they bring potential investors into the Mount Kumgang area, Hyundai would be upset and try to mobilize possible supporters in Parliament so the next government in South Korea will improve inter-Korean relations,” he said. “That is I think the design of the North Korean government.”

Wang Zhijun, a Chinese hotel manager from Jilin province who joined the trip free of charge, said it won’t be hard to sell the cruise to tourists in his region, which has a large ethnic Korean population and lacks coastline of its own.

But, he said, the price would have to stay low, suggesting around 2000 yuan (US$310) per passenger for an all-inclusive, five-day trip.

“It ought to be very popular. There are a lot of tourists already coming across to Rason,” Wang said. “People from China’s northeast would really like this kind of trip because it’s a cruise. You can enjoy the sea.”

The AFP also reported from the bosom of the Mangyongbong:

It has karaoke and fresh coffee, but the bathrooms on the lower decks are out of water and some guests sleep on the floor. Welcome aboard North Korea’s first cruise ship.

Keen to boost tourism and earn much-needed cash, authorities in the impoverished nation have decided to launch a cruise tour from the rundown northeastern port city of Rajin to the scenic resort of Mount Kumgang.

In a highly unusual move, the reclusive regime invited more than 120 journalists and Chinese tour operators on board the newly-renovated, 39-year-old Man Gyong Bong ship for a trial run of the 21-hour journey.

The vessel left one of Rajin’s ageing piers on Tuesday to the sound of rousing music, as hundreds of students and workers holding colourful flowers stood in line and clapped in unison.

“The boat was only renovated one week ago,” said Hwang Chol Nam, vice mayor of the Rason special economic zone, as he sat on the top deck at a table filled with bottles of North Korean beer, a large plate of fruit, and egg and seafood dishes.

“But it has already made the trip to Mount Kumgang and back. I told people to test the ship to make sure it was safe,” said the 48-year-old, dressed in a crisp suit adorned with a red pin sporting late leader Kim Il-Sung’s portrait.

The project is the brainchild of North Korea’s Taepung International Investment Group and the government of Rason, a triangular coastal area in the northeast that encompasses Rajin and Sonbong cities, and borders China and Russia.

Set up as a special economic zone in 1991 to attract investment to North Korea, it never took off due to poor infrastructure, chronic power shortages and a lack of confidence in the reclusive regime.

Now though, authorities are trying to revive the area as the North’s economy falters under the weight of international sanctions imposed over the regime’s pursuit of ballistic missiles and atomic weapons.

The country is desperately poor after decades of isolation and bungled economic policies, and is grappling with persistent food shortages.

In Rason, Hwang said authorities had decided to focus on three areas of growth — cargo trade, seafood processing and tourism.

North Korea has only been open to Western tourists since 1987 and remains tightly controlled, but more destinations are gradually opening up to tour groups keen to see the country for themselves.

Mount Kumgang, though, is at the heart of a political dispute between North and South Korea after a tourist from the South was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in 2008.

And Rason, where the cruise begins, is a poor area. The tours are tightly monitored, and the only brief contact with locals is with guides, tourist shop owners and hotel employees.

Visitors can expect only brief glimpses of everyday life through the windows of tour buses, as locals — many dressed in monochrome clothing — cycle past or drive the occasional car in otherwise quiet streets.

Small apartment blocks, many of them run down, are interspersed with monuments to the glory of the country’s leaders.

A portrait of current leader Kim Jong-Il and his late father Kim Il-Sung greets visitors as they walk through the vast lobby of the large, white hotel in Rajin.

“The book is a silent teacher and a companion to life,” reads a quotation from the late Kim, hung over glass cases full of books about North Korea, with titles like “The Great Man Kim Jong-Il” and “Korea — a trailblazer.”

The rooms are spartan but clean. But there is no Internet connection anywhere in the area, and the phone lines are unreliable and expensive. Foreign mobile phones are confiscated by tour guides as travellers enter the country.

Hwang said the government in Rason was trying to address communication problems and had signed a 26-year exclusive agreement with a Thai firm to set up Internet in the area, which he hoped would be running in September.

He acknowledged, however, that non-business related websites would likely be blocked, with the media tightly controlled in North Korea.

Many of Rason’s tourists come from neighbouring China. The area sees an average of 150 travellers from China every day during the summer peak season.

One Chinese national from the southeastern province of Fujian who gave only his surname, Li, said he had come to North Korea after a business meeting on the Chinese side of the border.

“We’ve come here mainly to see what changes there have been compared to our country… I like to go to places I’ve never been to before,” he said, standing in front of a huge portrait of Kim Il-Sung.

Simon Cockerell, managing director of Koryo Group, a Beijing-based firm that specialises in tours to North Korea, conceded that Rason may not be everyone’s idea of a holiday, but said its attraction lay in the unknown.

“A lot of people like going to obscure places. And this is the most obscure part of a very obscure country in tourism terms — the least visited part of the least visited country,” he said.

Back on the boat, Chinese tour operators sang karaoke in a dining hall decked out with North Korean flags as a waitress made fresh coffee, while guests drank beer and ate dried fish at plastic tables up on deck.

Inside, some cabins were decked out with bunk beds, while others just had mattresses laid out on the floor. The better rooms had tables, chairs and private washrooms.

Water in bathrooms on the vessel — used as a ferry between North Korea and Japan until 1992 when it started shipping cargo — was unreliable and when available, was brown.

But Park Chol Su, vice president of Taepung, said he had big plans for the tour if it attracted enough visitors.

He wants to invite more than 100 tourist agencies from Europe in October to sample the same trip, in a bid to attract travellers from further afield.

Authorities have promised no visas will be needed to go on the cruise and, if all goes to plan, the ship will be upgraded to a more comfortable one.

“Next year, we aim to get a bigger, nicer boat that can accommodate 1,000 people. We’d rent that from another country in Southeast Asia,” he said.

Some great photos of the trip are here.

A timeline of Kumgang stories from the shooting until today can be found here.

Read the full story here:
North Korea starts group tours from China to mountain resort formerly operated with South
Associated Press
2011-8-31

ORIGINAL POST (2011-9-7): The Mangyongbong-92 is going to be used for tourism. According to Yonhap:

North Korea appears likely to use a ferry to try to attract foreign tourists, a source familiar with the issue said Friday, in what could be an attempt to earn much-needed hard currency.

For decades, the Mankyongbong-92 served as the only shuttle between North Korea and Japan, which have no diplomatic relations, and was mostly used by pro-North Korean residents in Japan.

The 9,700-ton ship was later used to transport cargoes before Tokyo blocked its entry as part of economic sanctions over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests in 2006.

The ferry has also been suspected of being used for trafficking drugs, counterfeit money and other contraband goods.

North Korea is now preparing to use the vessel as a cruise ship for Chinese and other foreign businessmen during an upcoming international fair in Rason, the country’s special economic zone near China and Russia, the source said.

The North plans to use the ship to take the businessmen on a sightseeing trip in waters off the economic zone at the end of the international fair later this month.

The move is widely seen as the North’s attempt to use the ship for its tourism project.

“It is meaningful in that the Mankyongbong-92 would set sail as a cruise ship for the first time,” said Cho Bong-hyun, a researcher at the IBK Economic Research Institute, noting the North seems to be revitalizing tourism in the economic zone and attempting to attract Chinese tourists to earn hard currency.

The North designated Rason as a special economic zone in 1991 and has since striven to develop it into a regional transportation hub, though no major progress has been made.

…

Read the full story here:
N. Korea pushing to use ferry to attract foreign tourists
Yonhap
Kim Kwang-tae
2011-8-5

Steve Park, president of Korea Pyongyang Trading USA which imports a North Korean Soju (see previous posts here), claims that he has signed a MOU with the DPRK over tourism in the Kumgang resort.  This claim has been picked up by numerous media outlets.  It might be true, but I have yet to see the MOU documentation or any corroboration in the DPRK media.

According to the Hankyoreh:

Park Il-woo, also known as Steve Park, who has long conducted business with the communist nation, said his firm recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Mount Kumgang tourism business.　He is the president of Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A., which imports a North Korean liquor branded Pyongyang Soju.

The MOU stipulates that the company will be in charge of marketing, investor relations and tourist recruitment for what is said to be the most scenic mountain on the peninsula.　Under the agreement, the mountain area will be developed into a multi-purpose resort.

He said he plans to visit North Korea this weekend or next week to discuss concrete business plans. He expressed confidence that he will be able to attract substantial U.S. investment for the business. The North is also expected to select Japanese and Chinese business partners soon, he added.

According to another article in the AFP:

“I understand (the North) will also select Japanese and Chinese business partners soon,” said Park, whose company imports a North Korean liquor branded Pyongyang Soju.

No sooner had the deal been announced than the South Koreans raised the point that Mr. Park will need the permission of the US government to carry out his business plans. According to Yonhap:

A small New York-based company selected by North Korea to revive a stalled tour program to a mountain resort in the isolated country needs the endorsement of the U.S. government for its project, a South Korean official said Friday.

The U.S. Executive Order 13570 that took effect in April prohibits the importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services, or technology from North Korea.

Under the order, the envisioned tour program to North Korea’s Mount Kumgang by Korea Pyongyang Trading U.S.A. is subject to the U.S. government’s approval, the official said.

The company, headed by a Korean-American businessman, has yet to file an application with the U.S. government for approval of its proposed tour project in the North, the official said on the condition of anonymity, citing office policy.

U.S. State Department officials in Washington were not immediately available for comment.

The comments by the South Korean official came days after the New York firm signed a memorandum of understanding with the North on the tour program.

According tot he Donga Ilbo, Mr. Park has not yet submitted any paperwork to the US government:

Korea Pyongyang Trading USA is known to have not yet submitted an application to the U.S. government for business with the North.

Another South Korean government source said, “Considering the scale and situation of the trading company that was reportedly chosen as the new operator of the Mount Kumgang tour program and under the conditions of U.S. sanctions against the North and the executive order, we cannot confidently say the Mount Kumgang tour project will be implemented.”

These views by Seoul officials apparently reflect their internal judgment that they cannot accept Pyongyang`s unilateral revocation of Hyundai Asan’s exclusive right to the tours and appointment of a new operator.

The South Korean government understands that the North is taking steps to attract another foreign business other than the American company. Government officials in Seoul predicted, however, that the North is unlikely to find an operator due to U.S. sanctions against Pyongyang, limited demand for tours, and lack of infrastructure in the North.

A timeline of Kumgang stories from the shooting until now can be found here.

According to the Choson Ilbo:

Chinese tourists arrive in Pyongyang on Friday [July 1, 2011] on the inaugural flight of North Korea’s national airline Air Koryo from Pudong Airport in Shanghai to the North Korean capital, in this photo released by Korean Central News Agency on Saturday.

It is the third direct route to Pyongyang from China after flights from Beijing and Shenyang and will operate every Tuesday and Friday.

Additional information:

1. I am not sure about the flights to Shenyang, but the Beijing-Pyongyang route takes place on Tuesday and Saturday.

2. Air Koryo temporarily ran a Shanghai-Pyongyang route last year for “Chinese volunteers” who wanted to visit North Korea for the 60th anniversary of the Korean war.

3. Air Koryo reportedly launched a Pyongyang-Kuwait route earlier this year.

4. No doubt these Chinese tourists will be enjoying the newly “acquired” properties in the Kumgang resort.

4. UPDATE: This from KCNA (2011-8-9):

Many tourists have come to the DPRK by chartered planes.

The Shanghai-Pyongyang air service, which started on July 1, is available on Tuesday and Friday every week.

Tourism through the Xian-Pyongyang air service began on July 28.

Malaysian tourists will come to Pyongyang through direct flight from Kuala Lumpur from August 19.

Along with the increase of tourists, their entry and exit procedures have been simplified.

Under the agreement between the DPRK International Travel Company and a Chinese immigration office, Pyongyang and Pudong airports offer visa exemption to tourists taking the Shanghai-Pyongyang air service.

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
2011.05.26

On May 23, the DPRK released the “Outline of DPRK-China Joint Development Plan for Rason and Hwanggumpyong Economic and Trade Zone” consisting of detailed blueprint of two countries’ recent bilateral joint development deal.

According to Yonhap News, China and North Korea are planning to turn the Rason and Hwanggumpyong areas into a comprehensive industrial complex of tourism and manufacturing producing automobiles, mobile phones, agricultural and chemical products.

In addition, the Law on Rason Economic and Trade Zone and the Special Law on Hwanggumpyong Zone will adopt market economy principles which will permit foreign bank investments and independent contracts between corporations and workers. Although the development plans are not definite yet, it is significant since it hints at North Korea’s shifting position on opening up and economic development.

The bilateral development plan between Pyongyang and Beijing will stretch from Rajin, Sonbong, Ungsang, to Gulpo areas.

In the Rajin area, four major industrial complexes will be constructed consisting of storage, logistics and distribution centers, state of the art technology, and equipment, clothing and food manufacturing. In the Ungsang area, comprehensive a wood processing complex will be built while in the Gulpo area, a high-efficiency agriculture zone will be constructed. In the Sonbong area, truck manufacturing factories will be built along with other metal producing factories. In Rajin, docks will be built for ship building and maintenance.

There are also plans of developing the Rason area into an international tourism zone. There are immediate plans to build basic tourism infrastructure such as hotels, resorts, and roads for sightseeing. The long-term goal is to build a grand Northeast Asia tour course, which will include Yanbian of China; Rason, Chongjin, Mount Chilbo and Mount Kumgang of North Korea; Vladivostok and Sakhalin of Russia; Sapporo and Nakata of Japan; and Sokcho and Busan of South Korea.

As for the Hwanggumpyong area, four major industrial complexes will be established: one each for information, tourism and culture, modern protected agriculture, and food processing. More specifically, Hwanggumpyong will connect information between Hwanggumpyong and the border city of Dandong in China. In addition, culture and tourism will be developed through promotion of Arirang and other cultural performances and exhibitions.

As for the high-efficiency agriculture zone, a modern agriculture technology research center will be established and China-DPRK joint markets will be set up to serve as a central commerce center.

To assist with the industrial development in the area, land and sea routes will be developed where roads and railroads will be built and Rajin will be upgraded to a comprehensive and multi-purpose port.

There are additional plans of constructing a coal power station to replace the current thermoelectric power plant in Sonbong. There is also discussion of possibly developing other alternative energy plants, such as wind and solar. There are also plans of building basic facilities of mobile telecommunication to promote international communication.

Hwanggumpyong is an island on the Yalu River and the new developments in building ports and roads along with distribution network, Internet, and mobile telecommunication will become a link connecting North Korea with China.

Pyongyang is pursuing development through multiple cooperation channels. It has plans of establishing three-tiered cooperative system with joint management committee, joint development management committee and investment development corporation with Beijing. These committees will be responsible for amending and negotiating any issues that may arise during the process of development and supervise various areas of investments, enterprises, and environment and as well as inspect land and commerce development and basic facility operations.

Both Pyongyang and Beijing will attract foreign investments through market-based tax and financial policies in the Rason and Hwanggumpyong zones. Specifically, tax refund policy will be implemented and tariffs will be lifted from any imported equipment and materials necessary for production. The foreign investment companies will be allowed to choose their own banks or even establish financial institutions to assist in their business management.

In addition, workers and companies will be permitted to sign their own labor contracts. The companies will be granted autonomy in hiring and firing, pricing, bankruptcy, liquidation and other business practices based on market principles.

As for investment protection policy, foreign investors will be permitted to transfer or inherit profits and assets and foreign investor’s investments and assets will not be collected as national property by North Korea.

2012 DPRK tour dates: Koryo has posted travel dates for 2012, including a tour for Kim Il-sung’s 100th birthday.  Check the dates and itineraries here.

2011 Ultimate Frisbee tourney: Pyongyang will be home to its first ever Ultimate Frisbee tourney this summer.  August 27th.  Sign up now.

Ultimate Frisbee in North Korea. The most interesting sports thing you’ve ever done. Unless you’re Usain Bolt, who isn’t responding to my friend request.

The cost will be 890 Euros. This includes flights from and back to Beijing, tourist stuff Saturday and Monday, pizza, all other food that isn’t pizza, hotel, fields, entertainment. Visa fee (not optiona, 50 Euro) and ticket to the mass games (optional, but would be weird not to go: 80, 100, 150 or 300 Euro options) will be extra. North Korean microbrewed beer will be extra, but cheap (and good).

The itinerary includes two full days and three nights of touring. The tournament is a one day hat. We leave Beijing early Saturday and return early Tuesday. Participants should be in Beijing by Friday afternoon in order to collect visas get final info at Koryo Tours.
All nationalities except South Korean can participate.

Write an email to pyongyanghat@gmail.com if interested in attending and want more info.

If you know you’re in, write simon@koryogroup.com and ask for the necessary forms to get it going.

It ain’t cheap, but it will be amazing. We’re looking to get deposits by June 30th.

Tentative Itinerary for Ultimate Frisbee Tour
Thurs 25th Aug: Pickup in Beijing -Introduction to “Extreme Pollution Ultimate”, dinner at Dong Bei Ren Restaurant (Not included in tour fee)

Fri 26th Aug: Briefing/Collect Visas at Koryo Tours office in Beijing

Sat 27th Aug: N/A Arrival by Air Koryo flight from Beijing at 14:20, Fountain Park, Mansudae Grand Monument, Kim Il Sung Square, ARIRANG MASS GAMES

Sun 28th Aug: Taesongsan Park for Frisbee Tournament, picnic lunch Frisbee tournament, evening trip to Kaeson Youth funfair, dinner at Korean restaurant

Mon 29th Aug: Juche Tower, Mansudae Art Studio, Pyongyang Metro (extended ride on the subway), Arch of Triumph, USS Pueblo, Pizza Restaurant Lunch, FRISBEE CLINIC AT LOCAL MIDDLE SCHOOL. Paradise Micro-Brewery, Foreign Languages Bookshop, Farewell dinner at Duck BBQ restaurant, evening Karaoke option.

Tues 30th Aug: 9:00 Air Koryo Flight to Beijing. End of tour.

Previously, Koryo Tours hosted the first cricket match (2008) and first golf tournament (2005) in the DPRK.

Middlesbrough Women’s Football Team booklet: It has been posted to the Koryo Tours web page. You can download it here (PDF).  Learn more about this effort here and here.

According to Yonhap:

The number of Chinese visitors to North Korea’s border town of Sinuiju has reached 100,000 over the past year after Beijing lifted a four-year ban on Chinese group tours from the Chinese border city of Dandong, a news report said Friday.

Dandong, which borders Sinuiju, is a major trade route between North Korea and China.

The Chinese government resumed the group tours to Sinuiju from Dandong in April last year, a Dandong newspaper said, adding the number of Chinese tourists to Sinuiju is likely to go up in the coming months.

The one-day group tour program allows the Chinese to visit Sinuiju without visas.

China is the North’s last remaining ally and benefactor.

Read the full story here:
Chinese visitors to N. Korean border city top 100,000 in one year
Yonhap
2011-5-6