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N. Korea seeks economic zone near China

SEOUL, March 23 (UPI) -- North Korea is seeking to establish a special economic zone on islands bordering China, Seoul news reports said Friday.

The communist North has been pushing to set up a free trade zone on the Bidan and Wihwa islands on the Yalu River on the western border between North Korea and China, according to Yonhap News Agency.

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"The North has been mulling building the zone since early last year but hasn't made headway in the wake of its nuclear test (in October last year)," a South Korean source was quoted as saying.

Pyongyang hopes to use the proposed economic zone to win China's investments and help resuscitate the North's moribund economy, it said. The North has also sounded out South Korean companies on their investment plans for the project, it added.

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