Reporters visit Pyongyang on PR junket

By Lee Min-hyung

A group of European journalists recently visited North Korea to report on business potential in the country, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Tuesday.

About 10 reporters visited the repressive state from Oct. 28 to Nov. 8 to report on “doing business in North Korea,” according to Paul Tjia, CEO of Netherland-based GPI Consultancy, which organized the trip.

He said in an interview with RFA that North Korean officials explained some of the benefits given to foreign business investing in the country, including tax breaks and low labor costs.

North Korea is not a member of the International Labor Organization, the U.N agency that seeks to promote fair conditions and rights for workers around the world.

Given that North Korea remains one of the poorest countries in the world, there has been speculation that the North is making efforts to attract more foreign investors to patch up its vast government deficit.

According to RFA, a number of the reporters were impressed after seeing a number of taxis and newly-constructed buildings in Pyongyang.

As the North is one of the most isolated nations in the world, foreigners who gain access to the state are often amazed to see skyscrapers or busy streets in Pyongyang.

Reporters also visited clothing factories, animation production companies, software development companies and a number of warehouses, RFA reported. Tjia added that he was surprised to see a crowd of North Koreans at a horse-riding track.

According to the media, the reporters interviewed North Korean citizens and videotaped them fairly freely in Pyongyang.

Considering that North Korea has imposed a strict crackdown on information sharing by foreign media, this was surprising to the reporters on the junket.