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SEOUL, South Korea – Less than two weeks after being punished with new U.N. sanctions,North Korea has sent its ceremonial head of state and two topeconomic officials to Singapore and Indonesia on a trip thatappears aimed at drumming up outside investment. Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of North Korea'sparliament, arrived in Singapore on Friday for his first reportedtrip overseas since late leader Kim Jong Il's December death. He isto head Sunday to Indonesia with two senior economic officials,according to North Korean state media. Kim, no relation to Kim JongIl and current leader Kim Jong Un, often represents North Koreaabroad. The weeklong journey comes on the heels of new U.N. sanctionsimposed on North Korea for launching a long-range rocket last monthin defiance of Security Council resolutions banning it from nuclearor ballistic missile activity. North Korea insists the launch wasan attempt to send a satellite into space. Washington suspended an agreement to provide North Korea with foodaid, and the North could face more punishment if it follows thelaunch with an atomic test as it did in 2006 and 2009. Even as it has risked punishment by developing missiles, NorthKorea also has focused since 2009 on improving its economy bydeveloping light industry, drawing foreign investment and expandingtrade. With ties remaining tense with South Korea, North Korea is lookingelsewhere to build economic partnerships. Singaporean entrepreneurs already are supplying the well-to-do inPyongyang with everything from Heineken beer to Hello Kitty, andhave introduced some locals to hamburgers, fried chicken andBelgian waffles. North Korea is looking to diversify its trade, import naturalresources and export consumer goods with Southeast Asia's help. Singapore offers an attractive model for attracting direct foreigninvestment, while resource-rich Indonesia could give pointers onhow to make money from minerals, said Cho Bong-hyun, a researchfellow at the IBK Economic Research Institute in Seoul. The North Koreans may also use the trip to Singapore to learn howto develop a successful growth model that does not threaten thepolitical power structure, said Andray Abrahamian, executivedirector of Choson Exchange, a Singapore-based nonprofit group thathas provided business and legal training for about 200 young NorthKorean government officials and students. "Singapore's development trajectory has been attractive to a numberof countries who are interested in maintaining political stabilityto manage rapid economic growth," he said. Trade and investment between North Korea and Southeast Asia havewaxed and waned over the past 12 years. From 2000 to 2006, trade with 11 Southeast Asian countries —including Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand — accounted for10 to 12 percent of North Korea's foreign trade. But afterSingapore and others pledged to enforce U.N. sanctions, trade withthe region dropped to less than 2 percent in 2010, according to theKorea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul. North Korea has sought to reverse that trend. In 2010, Singaporewas North Korea's sixth-largest trade partner, according to theKorea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul. And in recentyears, North Korea has developed two special economic zones, inRason in the northeast and Hwanggumphyong in the northwest, and islooking to Singapore for guidance, analysts said. "Since the 1990s, North Korea has consistently said that it seesSingapore as a model for its special economic zones," said LimSoo-ho, a researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute inSeoul. Accompanying Kim is Ri Kwang Gun, who heads the Joint Venture andInvestment Commission in charge of attracting foreign investment. North Korea could also try to sell itself to manufacturers lookingfor cheap labor as well as boost exports of its consumer products,analysts said. The other economic official in the North Koreandelegation is An Jong Su, the minister of light industry, accordingto the official Korean Central News Agency. South Korea, meanwhile, is set to negotiate with China on a freetrade agreement that may lift tariffs on products made in NorthKorea's special economic zones, making investment in North Koreamore favorable. "North Korea has the cheapest labor in the world, less than half ofChina's (rates)," said Lim. "Foreign investors can manufacturegoods in North Korea and export them to China." Indonesia, meanwhile, may be able to provide guidance on how NorthKorea can exploit mineral resources that the North Korea ResourcesInstitute in Seoul estimates are worth more than $10 trillion,analysts said. Indonesia has had strong ties with North Korea since 1964. In 1965,when late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung paid Indonesia a visit,President Sukarno presented him with an orchid dubbed theKimilsungia. On Tuesday, North Korean and Indonesian officials signed anagreement to share news stories, photos, video and TV footage, andeventually swap journalists, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said in astatement. ___ Associated Press writers Harald Olsen in Seoul and Alex Kennedy inSingapore contributed to this report. I am an expert from wirerope-electrichoist.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Crane Control Panel Manufacturer , Worm-gear Speed Reducer Manufacturer, Conductor Rails,and more.
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