April 27, 2011
SEOUL (AFP) - China has begun paving a road connecting its northeastern region with a North Korean free trade zone in an attempt to gain access to the Sea of Japan (East Sea), a report said Wednesday.
It hopes to complete work on the 53 kilometre (32 mile) road between Hunchun and the Rason zone by the end of this year, Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said, adding the project would be financed by Beijing.
The paper quoted sources in China as saying Beijing and Pyongyang would soon unveil a joint plan to develop Rason.
The impoverished North is striving to revitalise Rason near its border with China and Russia. It became a special economic zone in 1991 but never took off.
In January 2010 Pyongyang issued a decree to upgrade the status of the zone, formerly known as Rajin-Sonbong.
In January this year a South Korean newspaper reported that China plans to invest about $2 billion to try to build up Rason as a regional export base.
The project calls for the construction of coal-fired power plants, roads, piers and an oil refinery, JoongAng newspaper said.
China, Pyongyang's sole major ally and biggest trade partner, has actively explored investment opportunities in North Korea.
