US radio: European business delegation to visit North Korea

A European business delegation plans to visit North Korea in September to explore business opportunities in the isolated country, a U.S. radio report said. The Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Tuesday that the delegation is set to travel to the North from Sept. 23 to Sept. 28, citing GPI Consultancy, a consulting company in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, that focuses on North Korea and other developing countries. The delegation is also scheduled to attend a trade fair in Pyongyang and tour North Korea's industrial sectors as well as discuss with North Korean officials the benefits and challenges of doing business in North Korea, according to the report. The RFA said the delegation's makeup has not been set yet. The report comes amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's possible nuclear test. Pyongyang has threatened to carry out a "new form" of nuclear test in anger over a United Nations condemnation of its ballistic missile launches in March. Separately, the Washington-based Voice of America (VOA) reported Wednesday that North Korea's trade volume with the European Union stood at 144 million euros (US$200 million) in 2013, compared with 24 million euros in 2012. The hike came as North Korea increased its mineral exports to the EU by 34-fold to 102 million euros from 3 million euros during the cited period, according to the VOA