Foreign Law Firm Allowed to Practice in North Korea

North Korea has allowed the establishment of a foreign law office in its nation for the purpose of actively attracting foreign investment.

The U.K.’s Financial Times (FT) reported on September 8 that a British-based law firm, Hay, Kalb and Associates, is planning to open a branch in Pyongyang.

Led by Mike Hay, the firm’s senior attorney who has been involved in North Korea–related affairs since 1998, this new law firm will launch with 12 staff members that majored in law at Kim Il-sung University. The FT also reported that the office will be located near Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang and will provide foreign companies with investment counseling and legal advice.

The North’s sanction of allowing a foreign law firm to practice in its nation can be understood as a sign that the country wants to find a solution for “openness” and to get out of its isolated economic situation, said the Financial Times.

“North Korea is the only unexploited market left in Northeast Asia that possesses 23 million low-paid workers and a potential consumer market,” the FT analyzed. “The nation is keenly focusing on attracting foreign investment to boost its current economic situation.” Foreign companies so far have been reluctant to enter the North Korean market due to the hierarchic political system and poor level of electricity and transportation infrastructure.

Although the nuclear issue is still unsolved and has been a barrier to investment, North Korea can offer a variety of investment opportunities to foreigners in terms of mines, energy, beer, textile, and tourism, according to the FT.

Dong-Won Kim daviskim@donga.com