How did a garrulous Chinese entrepreneur who didn't speak a word of Korean persuade a secretive and xenophobic leader to hand over 132 sq km of land and more power than any other official in his country?
On September 24, 2002, Kim Jong-il appointed Yang Bin chief of the special economic region of Sinuiju, after six months of covert negotiations, a decision that stunned the world and made newspaper headlines worldwide.
A new book published in Hong Kong and South Korea, but banned on the mainland, tells the remarkable story of how Yang persuaded Mr Kim to give him such sweeping powers and how, just two weeks later, he was arrested by Chinese police on the day he was to start his new job, welcomed by 100,000 cheering North Koreans. It reveals how one man calls the shots in North Korea, the tightrope walked by high-flying mainland businesspeople and the risks they run by offending the government. It is also a fascinating portrait of Yang, one of China's most flamboyant entrepreneurs.
In July last year, Yang was sentenced to 18 years in jail for economic crimes. As a result, the future of the North Korean SAR remains uncertain. Two years earlier, Forbes magazine declared Yang the second richest person in China, with a personal fortune of US$900 million.
Author of the book, entitled The Misfortune of the Man Who Played with Fire, is experienced editor and writer Guan Shan, whom Yang asked to write his biography in April 2002. He spent the next six months at Yang's side and took part in the negotiations with North Korea. For him, the story is a tragedy. 'The SAR was North Korea's best hope of following China and embarking on a course of reform and open-door [policy], and bringing peace and development to the country. When I heard Yang's final testimony at his trial, I wept,' Mr Guan said.
The story opens in January 2001, when Mr Kim visited an agricultural centre in Shanghai where he was impressed by the system of greenhouses which produced high yields through winter months. The death of thousands through starvation has been one of the dictator's biggest failures.
