N. Korea says it found "promising" reserves of natural resources

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Sunday said its geological survey teams
recently discovered potential reserves of natural resources such as coal and
iron.
"An exploration team in South Pyongan Province has secured a number of fields for
natural resources, including coal, while the teams in South Hwanghae and Kangwon
provinces made progress in locating iron ore," the North's Korean Central
Broadcasting Station reported.
The report did not provide any other details, such as the exact location of the
new mine fields or the estimated amounts of minerals buried there.
Natural resources are a valuable source of hard currency for the impoverished
North. The communist nation is believed to have the world's largest deposit of
magnesite and the second-largest deposit of tungsten in the world.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)