NORTH KOREA - The local government of Kimchuk in North Korea is considering a trade fair next year. The fair could be open to exhibitors from abroad, a rare departure for the largely closed state.
Head of Kimchuk Municipal People's Committee, Yi Bok-il, spoke about the potential for an open exhibition after the recent opening ceremony of the 6th China Yanji Tumen River Area International Fair for Investment and Trade, held in Yanji, in the Jilin Province.
Speaking to the Global Times, Yi said the event was the first time Kimchuk took part in this sort of economic activity, and now hopes to promote economic communication and trade cooperation with China and other countries in Northeast Asia via a new trade fair open to all countries.
The China Yanji Tumen River Area International Fair for Investment and Trade lasted for three days, featuring delegates and enterprises from 26 countries and regions.
However, experts have reservations about North Korea’s potential involvement in Northeast Asia’s economic development.
“Given the uncertainties of North Korea's domestic political and economic situation, it is still hard to project an optimistic estimate of the country's contribution to the economic cooperation to the pan-Northeast Asian area,” deputy director of Center for Northeast Asia Studies of Jilin University, Yu Xiao, told the Global Times. "It will be a long process and be subject to further observation," he added.
