Pyongyang: North Korea will set up an agency to implement a 10-year economic development plan as the government strives to prop up the economy in the face of UN sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons programmes.
The plan will help North Korea "emerge a thriving nation in 2012 and opens a bright prospect for the country to proudly rank itself among the advanced countries in 2020," the state- run Korean Central News Agency reported today, citing a Cabinet decision.
The State General Bureau for Economic Dev-elopment will be set up to oversee "state strategy projects for economic development" and the Korea Taepung International Investment Group will help implement major projects, KCNA said. North Korea created Korea Taepung last year to attract funds from overseas.
The announcement underscores North Korea's efforts to boost its 24.7 trillion won ($22 billion) economy as leader Kim Jong-il prepares to hand over power to his youngest son. The communist country's economy shrank 0.9 per cent in 2009, with trade falling 11 per cent after the UN Security Council toughened sanctions for North Korea's second nuclear test in May 2009, according to the latest data from South Korea's Bank of Korea.
The development plan will focus on building infrastructure and developing industries including agriculture, energy and mineral resources, KCNA said. Kim's son, Kim Jong-un, was named to the second-highest military post on the Workers' Party in September, paving the way to become the next leader of the Stalinist state. It was the first time North Korea publicly mentioned the junior Kim, who is believed to have turned 27 earlier this month.
