A Chinese investor returning from Rasun after four days in the special economic zone revealed to The Daily NK today, “North Korean cadres emphasized that Kim Jong Il had handed down orders to open the special economic zone more decisively, so in future barriers to investment would disappear.”
The investor, Lee went on, “The reason why the development of Rasun made slow progress in the past was because cadres added arbitrary ‘legalities’ to Kim Jong Il’s ‘decisively open’ instructions, so confidence was lost. A policy has come down again to solve all these problems.”
“I met people charged with attracting foreign capital and cadres from the Trade and Cooperation Agency many times during four days there,” Lee explained, saying that the cadres had emphasized that they would, “Cooperate actively, unify and make positive future improvements to (Chosun’s) overseas image.”
According to reports, Kim Jong Il, visiting Rajin Dockyard in April this year, gathered local cadres and emphasized similar words to them personally.
On March 29th, shortly prior to Kim’s visit, Chosun Central News Agency also released a report promoting conditions in the economic zone, in which it stated, “Overseas investors and enterprises are proceeding smoothly with various trade and economic activities, while having freedom of choice in investment types and enterprise management methods.”
While unable to comment on smoothness, Lee did confirm that trade is ongoing and the city seems to be bustling, saying, “Since Rajin Port is being maintained by soldiers, I could not go there personally, but even now vessels shipping goods between Jilin Province and Shanghai are operating. More than 30 trucks were standing in line there.”
Confirming that hotels and a casino in the city are open for business, too, he went on, “Well over a few hundred people enter Rasun from China each day. Construction workers, tourists, haulage vehicles, government officials etc. all wait to go through customs and enter. Downtown Rasun is relatively lively, also.”
However, Lee did note also that Rasun has a long way to go before it can call be called well-developed, or indeed an excellent distribution center.
“Although Rasun is well ahead of other areas, the roads are still deeply rutted, and it is hard for cars and trucks to pick up any speed. To revitalize distribution or tourism, first they will have to repair the road to an adequate standard,” he said.
