By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea plans to begin development of two resource-rich regions in North Korea in earnest next year to further accelerate cross-border economic cooperation, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Thursday.
While the development of the Dancheon region on the northeastern part of the peninsula will be spearheaded by the government, that of the Nampo-Haeju region in the western part will be in the hands of South Korea’s private enterprises, ministry officials said.
Presented by the ministry at a forum in Seoul, the blueprint calls for more funds to be funneled into North Korea so that prospective developers can conduct geological surveys and compile detailed data for future reference.
South Korea, which lacks natural resources, imports a lot of raw materials from abroad to keep the economy going. On the contrary, North Korea lacks the social infrastructure and development know-how though it owns some resources.
``Dancheon in South Hamgyeong Province has two or three mines that hold promise for future development,’’ a ministry official said, adding the area will be built up as a special resources zone with electricity generating plants, power cables and railways.
As for the Nampo-Haeju region in Hwanghae Province, which is already designated as a special zone, the ministry said that it will offer support so that private companies can obtain development rights for limestone, graphite, phosphate and other resources.
South Korea’s state-run resources company, the Korea Resources Corp. (KORES), already holds a-50 percent stake in a graphite manufacturing facility in the North that ships products to South Korea.
Resources development in the poverty-stricken country has been pursued as part of agreements made in a summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang last October.
Industry sources as well as government officials say that the projects will contribute a great deal to enhancing inter-Korean economic cooperation that currently relies on business conducted at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the tourism project at Mt. Geumgang.
In the meantime, the government said in the forum that it plans to invest about $1 billion (939 billion won) to develop overseas mineral resources in 2008, up 343 percent from this year’s investment of $639 million.
The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), which also presented a plan to the forum, said that it aims to take part in 11 overseas development projects by 2016 to acquire 27 million tons of soft coal, about 45 percent of total demand for the period.