Word: pyongyang
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Richard Savage kneels in the rich brown earth of a field on the outskirts of Pyongyang and reverentially spreads out the broad, green leaf of a young paulownia tree. The saplings have been in the ground for only a month but already they are a meter high; the first harvest could take place in just five years. Eyes shaded by his black cowboy hat, the Singaporean native gazes down the rows of juvenile trees, each worth thousands of dollars at maturity, with a satisfied grin. The experimental lumber crop has survived the harsh North Korean winter and is flourishing...
...place for long-term investments like tree farms. The decrepit Stalinist economy depends on international handouts to prevent widespread starvation. The Dear Leader?strongman Kim Jong Il?runs the country like a medieval fief. But Savage is confident that his $23 million, 20,000 hectare Paulownia plantation south of Pyongyang will pay off. His Singapore-based company, Maxgro Holdings, is investing $5 million in North Korea this year, and he even has plans to build a resort there, complete with a 70-room hotel, horseback riding, trout fishing and all-terrain vehicles. "This is a mega-growth area," he says...
...tentative reforms could start the sclerotic state on the capitalist road, just as China embarked on economic modernization in the '70s. "The fact that they are tackling the issue and starting to make these changes is significant," says David Morton, head of the World Food Program in Pyongyang. Skeptics suggest North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may be adjusting prices to curb the flourishing black market. A more plausible explanation: persistent food shortages and the need to import fertilizer, fuel and other commodities make it imperative that North Korea develop a functioning economy. The hermit country seems at last...
CONFLICTING CLAIMS Chinese scholars say the glistening white pyramid perched on a bluff overlooking the Yalu River is the tomb of Koguryo's 5th century King Changsu. Some of their Korean counterparts disagree, believing their national hero to be buried in Koguryo's second capital, Pyongyang...
...region is host to the largest collection of Koguryo tombs outside of Pyongyang, including pyramidal, stepped tombs?like that of Changsu's?and more common mound tombs covered in earth and renowned for their painted murals. As some of the most impressive examples of ancient Asian art, these murals are also the latest fetish in the stolen antiquities trade. Even after 1,500 years, their colorful depictions of Koguryo life and myth still prove seductive, and there have been several reported tomb lootings. Chinese authorities assert that wealthy South Koreans are behind the thefts, an allegation backed by the sighting...