North Korea's 'industrial hub' open for business but sees few takers

A lonely farmer and his ox cart are the only sign of activity on a dusty island meant to be an industrial hub that will raise North Korea's wrecked economy.

Despite talk of reform by the secretive state after the third generation of the Kim family dynasty took over nearly a year ago, about all that seems to be growing is the gap between the tiny population of rich and the already malnourished poor.

And while the government is hoping to lure in foreign investment, more often than not, the money, and tens of thousands of workers, are heading out of the impoverished North instead.

The 1,400-hectare Hwanggumphyong island is one of four economic zones that were designed to be a magnet for Chinese capital and manufacturing.

It lies on the Yalu river, across from the bustling Chinese border city of Dandong and one of the few areas where North Korea allows its citizens contact with the outside world.

But Chinese investors are showing little appetite for North Korea, whose economy is worse than it was 20 years ago from a combination of sanctions over its nuclear weapons ambitions, famine and mismanagement.