N. Korea to create 2nd special economic zone: Media

Asian Economic News, Oct 7, 2002

HONGKONG, Oct. 3 Kyodo

North Korea is planning to set up a second special economic zone in the country later this month, the Hong Kong media reported Thursday.

Sing Tao Daily and other media reports said the new special zone would be set up in Kaesong, an industrial town just north of the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.

Last month, North Korea inaugurated the nation's first special economic zone in Sinuiju, a border town in northwestern North Korea close to China's Liaoning Province.

The South Korean conglomerate Hyundai group has been developing an industrial site in Kaesong.

Hyundai officials reportedly traveled to North Korea last month and urged the North Korean government to give companies that operate in Kaesong a free hand to run their business. North Korean officials expressed interest in the proposal.

Kaesong is likely to follow the model of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, which opened on Sept. 12.

Sinuiju has its own legislative, administrative, and judicial powers and is headed by the Dutch-Chinese businessman Yang Bin.

The North Korean government is expected to promulgate a Kaesong industrial zone law next month that would allow companies to run their production and transaction activities according to market principles, the press reports said.