The Korea Land Corporation has drawn up a plan to develop several North Korean cities as special economic zones and industrial, trade and tourism bases, it emerged Thursday. Based on information from government agencies including the National Intelligence Service, the report looks to be used as a source for discussion on economic cooperation at the inter-Korean summit in early October. The report covers in-depth strategies to develop six North Korean cities. Last December, the KLC, using a geographic information system, also drew up a confidential report on industrial facilities and infrastructure in North Korea to pursue inter-Korean economic cooperation projects systematically.
The new report lists detailed strategies to develop Nampo, Haeju, Hamheung, Wonsan, Shinuiju, Najin and Sunbong as key industrial, logistics and tourism bases. The report identifies the six cities are those that can be first designated as special economic zones when North Korea opens up. Presidential chief secretary for national security Baek Jong-chun on Thursday said the South may propose setting up several more inter-Korean joint ventures like the existing Kaesong Industrial Complex. President Roh Moo-hyun at a ground-breaking ceremony for an ¡°innovation city¡± in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province recently promised ¡°a lot of work¡± for the Korea Land Corporation and the Korea Expressway Corporation from the summit as well as a port project.
According to the report, the port city of Nampo could become home to an international business and state-of-the-art industrial complex and be developed as a logistics and trade hub in the Yellow Sea. An industrial complex for light industry goods, electrics, electronics and semiconductor chips could be built in Haeju, while Hamheung could be developed as a heavy and chemical industrial center. Shinuiju could serve as a base for trade with China¡¯s three Northeastern provinces, while Wonsan could become a tourism center for the East Sea coastal region. The report proposes developing the Najin-Sunbong area as a hub for economic cooperation with Russia and China.
The cost would be astronomical. The KLC said the development projects would require massive investment in infrastructure -- railways, roads, ports, airports and electricity and water supply facilities. For the six North Korean cities alone that would cost more than W10 trillion (US$1=W920). Of that, W4.3 trillion would be needed for 11 construction projects, including W1.94 trillion for four roads, railways, ports and powerhouses in Haeju and Nampo. The price tag makes the idea potentially controversial since the task of finding the money would fall to the next South Korean government.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
