Indonesia discovers North Korea as trading partner
Indonesia’s foreign minister held talks with his North Korean counterpart during a rare official visit to the secretive nation, seeking to boost trade ties and nudge the North toward abandoning its nuclear ambitions, Bloomberg reported.
North Korea and Indonesia have maintained friendly relations since the mid 1960s, when North Korean founder Kim Il Sung visited Jakarta. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, on his first-ever trip to the country, carried a letter from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying peace in the region was a precondition to economic development.
North Korea’s official media made mention of Natalegawa’s trip in several reports, with state news agency KCNA saying he visited a palace in Pyongyang where former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie in state, and paid tribute.
“The president of the Republic of Indonesia emphasiSes the need for breakthroughs to intensify communication between the two Korean nations, including through non-traditional ways,” Natalegawa said in a statement. He also met with Kim Yong Nam, the president of North Korea’s parliament.
Natalegawa suggested that there could be an Indonesian business delegation visiting North Korea to study opportunities for economic cooperation, as special economic zones are opened in North Korea. Trade between Southeast Asia’s largest economy and North Korea grew more than 45 per cent over the past five years, Natalegawa said in the statement.
North Korea plans to jointly build a high-tech industrial park and a highway between Pyongyang and its airport with a consortium of foreign firms, including some in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, KCNA said October 17.
Indonesia's foreign minister held talks with his North Korean counterpart during a rare official visit to the secretive nation, seeking to boost trade ties and nudge the North toward abandoning its nuclear ambitions, Bloomberg reported. North Korea and Indonesia have maintained friendly relations since the mid 1960s, when North Korean founder Kim Il Sung visited Jakarta. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, on his first-ever trip to the country, carried a letter from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying peace in the region was a precondition to economic development. North Korea’s official media made mention of Natalegawa’s trip in several reports, with state...
Indonesia’s foreign minister held talks with his North Korean counterpart during a rare official visit to the secretive nation, seeking to boost trade ties and nudge the North toward abandoning its nuclear ambitions, Bloomberg reported.
North Korea and Indonesia have maintained friendly relations since the mid 1960s, when North Korean founder Kim Il Sung visited Jakarta. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, on his first-ever trip to the country, carried a letter from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying peace in the region was a precondition to economic development.
North Korea’s official media made mention of Natalegawa’s trip in several reports, with state news agency KCNA saying he visited a palace in Pyongyang where former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie in state, and paid tribute.
“The president of the Republic of Indonesia emphasiSes the need for breakthroughs to intensify communication between the two Korean nations, including through non-traditional ways,” Natalegawa said in a statement. He also met with Kim Yong Nam, the president of North Korea’s parliament.
Natalegawa suggested that there could be an Indonesian business delegation visiting North Korea to study opportunities for economic cooperation, as special economic zones are opened in North Korea. Trade between Southeast Asia’s largest economy and North Korea grew more than 45 per cent over the past five years, Natalegawa said in the statement.
North Korea plans to jointly build a high-tech industrial park and a highway between Pyongyang and its airport with a consortium of foreign firms, including some in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, KCNA said October 17.
