North Korea and China have reportedly agreed to move forward with a long－stalled plan
for a special administrative zone in the northwestern region of the communist state.
For details we turn to Oh Soo－young.
After thirteen years of nothing much， North Korea and China have once again agreed to
start co－developing Sinuiju， a special administrative region in North Korea.
According to a government source in Seoul， the two countries have agreed to resume plans
to set up a capitalistic－style economic zone， modeled after Hong Kong and Macau.
The project was initially conceived in 2002 by North Korea′s former leader Kim Jong－il，
to experiment with a market economy and to attract foreign investment.
However， the plan was later abandoned when a Chinese－born businessman appointed as
the region′s governor was arrested in China for tax evasion.
But now， the project seems to be back on track after Liu Yunshan ，.. a senior Chinese
official，... attended celebrations in Pyongyang this month， marking 70 years of North Korea′s
ruling Workers′ Party， According to the plans， a canal will be
built across the Sinuiju region， creating Northern and Southern districts， with residential
areas and public infrastructure on each side.
Ten bridges will arch over the canal，... which will be used for shipping goods and
industrial water management.
Six mobile communication base stations will also be installed by the two partner countries.
Total investment in Sinuiju is expected to reach four－hundred billion U.S. dollars.
Oh Soo－young， Arirang News.