By Kim Se-jeong
During his clandestine visit to China last August, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is said to have agreed on handing over the Rajin development to China.
Rajin is a city located in the Rajin-Songbong (Rason) Economic Special Zone at the northern tip of the country, and the whole area has risen as a future economic hub in recent years.
Quoting an anonymous source based in China, the DongA Ilbo newspaper wrote Hu initially suggested the idea of China taking over the development project in the border city, and the leader Kim replied in China’s favor.
The economic zone is believed to have copied one of the Chinese economic zones on the border.
Last January, the zone received a special title, having opened up more to foreign investors, mainly from China and Russia.
The news report said Hu additionally requested the North allow Chinese ships to travel through the Tumen River so that China could get to the East Sea quicker, and Kim also agreed.
All these might offer an explanation for recent changes.
Witnesses have said that the volume of economic activities between China and North Korea has surged immensely in recent months. Not too long ago, the area received a whole new group of management officials.
Some say from next year, the economic zone will even open itself up to so-called enemy states including the United States and South Korea for investment.
What’s for sure is that all of these will eventually be acknowledged as inexperienced heir Kim Jong-un’s achievements.