N. Korea eyeing Chinese investment to develop Rason

North Korea is reportedly keen on projects to develop Rason Special City in North Hamkyong Province, a city on the North`s far eastern border with China.

According to a promotional investment blueprint made by a mid-size construction company in China’s Jilin province, the North is seeking Chinese corporate investment to build a five-star hotel covering 2,000 square meters, golf course, and a large trading market.

The company said the hotel will likely cost 50 million U.S. dollars and the golf course another 10 million dollars to build. Rason has the five-star Emperor Hotel with 100 rooms and the three-star Rajin Hotel primarily for serving Chinese tourists, but the North apparently wants more accommodations for the city’s major development projects.

The North is also seeking to set up a modern marketplace to replace Rason Market, which was built in 1997. The market plays an important role as the North’s first gate for the domestic distribution of Chinese goods.

The plan to expand the market nearly seven times in size will cost an estimated 100 million U.S. dollars.

In addition, the North plans to attract investment to build new docks in the port of Rajin, install a pair of 100,000-kilowatt power generators, and develop copper and coal mines.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the Chinese company Shangdi Guanqun signed a letter of intent last month to invest 2 billion dollars to develop Rason’s infrastructure, including building roads, ports and an oil refinery.

zsh75@donga.com