ID :
187537
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 15:39
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https://oananews.org//node/187537
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Xinhua confirms China, N. Korea start work on joint economic zones
By Kim Young-gyo
HONG KONG, June 9 (Yonhap) -- China's state news media confirmed Thursday that China and North Korea began construction on a joint industrial complex on a border island, a move that may deepen the North's economic reliance on its neighboring country.
Xinhua news agency said the steering committee of the China-North Korea Economic Trade Zone held meetings at the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jilin from Tuesday to Thursday.
During the three days, China and North Korea broke ground to develop Hwanggumphyong Island and Rason Free Economic Zone, both in North Korea, into major joint economic areas, the Xinhua report said.
Hwanggumphyong is an island about 11 square meters that sits at the estuary of the Yalu River between two border cities, Dandong on the Chinese side and Sinuiju on the North's side. Rason is a coastal region on northeastern North Korea bordering China and Russia.
The groundbreaking ceremony on Hwanggumphyong island was held on Wednesday with some 1,000 people from both sides attending, according to various media reports from the area.
The Chinese delegation was led by Commerce Minister Chen Deming, the Xinhua report said. The North Korean team was headed by Jang Song-thaek, the chief minister of the Central Committee of the ruing Workers' Party, it said.
"The two sides agreed to work together to make full use of their respective advantages," the report said. "The two economic zones will demonstrate how China and North Korea trade and cooperate economically."
The groundbreaking came on the heels of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's weeklong trip to China in May to study the neighboring country's spectacular economic development, his third trip to China in just over a year.
Beijing has been trying to lure its impoverished ally to embrace the reform that lifted millions of Chinese out of poverty and helped Beijing's rise to the world's second-largest economy.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
HONG KONG, June 9 (Yonhap) -- China's state news media confirmed Thursday that China and North Korea began construction on a joint industrial complex on a border island, a move that may deepen the North's economic reliance on its neighboring country.
Xinhua news agency said the steering committee of the China-North Korea Economic Trade Zone held meetings at the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jilin from Tuesday to Thursday.
During the three days, China and North Korea broke ground to develop Hwanggumphyong Island and Rason Free Economic Zone, both in North Korea, into major joint economic areas, the Xinhua report said.
Hwanggumphyong is an island about 11 square meters that sits at the estuary of the Yalu River between two border cities, Dandong on the Chinese side and Sinuiju on the North's side. Rason is a coastal region on northeastern North Korea bordering China and Russia.
The groundbreaking ceremony on Hwanggumphyong island was held on Wednesday with some 1,000 people from both sides attending, according to various media reports from the area.
The Chinese delegation was led by Commerce Minister Chen Deming, the Xinhua report said. The North Korean team was headed by Jang Song-thaek, the chief minister of the Central Committee of the ruing Workers' Party, it said.
"The two sides agreed to work together to make full use of their respective advantages," the report said. "The two economic zones will demonstrate how China and North Korea trade and cooperate economically."
The groundbreaking came on the heels of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's weeklong trip to China in May to study the neighboring country's spectacular economic development, his third trip to China in just over a year.
Beijing has been trying to lure its impoverished ally to embrace the reform that lifted millions of Chinese out of poverty and helped Beijing's rise to the world's second-largest economy.
ygkim@yna.co.kr