North Korea Opens Web Site to Tout Food Products
North Korea may be better known for its food shortages but on Monday it launched a Web site packed with products ranging from buckwheat noodles and ginseng tea to kimchi spicy cabbage and herbal medicine. "Beautiful fantastic goods in DPRK," says a revolving banner on the Chosun Expo Web Site (www.chosunexpo.com) featuring a young Korean woman in traditional hanbok dress.
South Korean entrepreneur Kim Beom-hun told Reuters the Web site was launched on Monday and was a sign Pyongyang was looking to open up more. The site is in English, Korean and Chinese, although some sections did not appear active yet. "This site was not launched to make a profit," said Kim. "Similarly, you cannot buy anything from chosun.com. Various products are introduced in great details so that if people are interested, they can go to distributors and outlets." His company said the site was one of just a handful run out of North Korea. Most official North Korea-linked sites are hosted outside, typically from Japan where there is a large North Korean community.
Posted by: tipper 2004-11-02 |