The opening ceremony for the Chongsu Tourist Development Zone， an area designated as one of North Korea’s economic development zones (EDZ)， took place on October 30， 2014.

According to a report on October 31 by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)， the Chongsu Tourist Development Zone is an EDZ which was developed under the July 23， 2014 decree of the Standing Committee of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly， and covers nearly 3，800 hectares in various parts of Pangsan-ri and the Chongsong Workers' District in Sakju County， North Phyongan Province.

It was reported that the Chongsu Tourist Development Zone was opened through cooperation between North Korea’s North Phyongan Provincial People’s Committee and China’s Liaoning Province， Dandong City People’s Government， and Dandong Overseas Travel Co. Ltd.

In an interview with the KCNA， Kwak Jin Ho， director of the North Phyongan Provincial People’s Committee’s Department for Economic Zone Development， said about the development prospects of the Chongsu tourist zone: “This area will be developed into a tourist zone equipped with modern tourism and service facilities while also highlighting the distinct characteristics of Korean folklore.”

Director Kwak also stated， “The zone’s infrastructure， public facilities and tourist service facilities will all be built to meet modern standards. Currently there are plans to construct factories for special product manufacturing， as well as areas for livestock， orchards and fisheries. With these targets， there are also plans for a cultural recreation district， Korean folk village， general services area， Korean folk hotel， as well as processing plants for spring water， fruits， wild greens and kimchi.”

In addition， Director Kwak said in the interview， “The hillsides will be transformed into orchards to create a tourist destination filled with scarlet and white peaches and other high quality fruit trees.” With regards to visiting the area， Director Kwak stated， “Due to the geographical location of the tourist zone being along the border， tours are generally half-day or one-day trips.”

It was also noted that the Chongsu and Youlgol Revolutionary Historic Sites will be included among visitor destinations， and that there are plans to include the Chongsong Bridge， which was used in the Korean War， and other Pangsan-ri locations as tourist destinations.

With regards to the tourist development zone， the KCNA expressed its anticipation， saying， “When it begins， tourism will attract many tourists to this zone and will therefore form an international tourism link between Chongsu and Dandong， China.”