NORTH KOREA: The Pyongyang government says it...
NORTH KOREA: The Pyongyang government says it plans to increase imports of machinery and equipment from the West as part of an effort to modernize its economy. Government officials say they probably will extract North Korean gold deposits to pay for computers, mining, fishing and office automation. The North Koreans also say they will soon begin to repay debts from Western loans on which they have defaulted. The government owes more than $800 million to Western banks after defaulting on syndicated loans arranged in the early 1970s.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
