According to a Yonhap News
report, North Korea’s plan to attract foreign investment by setting up economic
development zones is doomed to fail unless Pyongyang addresses its nuclear
weapons programs. Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential foreign affairs secretary, stated that no country
can invest in North Korea while tight U.N. sanctions remain in place. North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and
February 2013, drawing international condemnation and tougher U.N. sanctions. Ju
called on North Korea to follow in the footsteps of either Ukraine or
Kazakhstan and give up nuclear weapons in return for economic aid and security
guarantees. North Korea, however, continues to call for simultaneous nuclear and
economic development and lists the United States’ policy against it as hostile.
