Investment in a Worker's Paradise

The Chinese see North Korea as an important source of minerals and is investing hundreds of millions of yuan in mineral ventures, particularly the new Taean Friendship Glass Plant Resource-hungry China looks to North Korea

State-run Korean Central Television in Pyongyang has not only begun regular weekly updates on the Taean Friendship Glass Plant, it has also spruced up its studio to play the part of attractive investment locale.

On Aug. 11, for the first time in North Korean news, an announcer and a reporter were shown at the same time, a man and a woman, talking with each other about the plant, said Yonhap News Agency.

A flashy new flat TV screen was also displayed in the drab studio.

"North Korea is publicizing the project positively," said an official at South Korea's Unification Ministry. "It's because the project is a symbol of the friendship between China and North Korea."

Part of the pomp surrounding the plant will be a ceremony to celebrate its completion. It will be held Monday-the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party.

Ordinary workers, meantime, are having to brave what the Workers' Party calls a cut in its "minimum wage"-from $80 (9,120 yen) to $38 (4,332 yen) a month. The idea apparently is to woo foreign investors by showcasing cheap labor.

Worker's paradise? And, this will help preserve the Dear Murdering Freak in power.