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Felix Abt (born 15 January 1955, Switzerland) is a Swiss business affairs specialist on North Korea and Vietnam. [1]
Abt was one of the first foreign entrepreneurs [2] to seek to do business in contemporary North Korea, where he lived between 2002 and 2009, and developing and operating businesses. He co-founded and directed the Pyongyang Business School, where he was involved in capacity building [3] related to business administration for senior executives of North Korean government agencies and enterprises.
Abt published a memoir titled A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom in 2014. [4]
Before he rejoined the ABB Group in 2002 and moved to North Korea, Felix Abt had been working from 1990 for companies in countries and regions such as Vietnam, the Middle East and Africa. [5] [6] [7]
In 2002, Abt was appointed resident Group Representative in North Korea by the Swiss-Swedish ABB Group, an electrical power and automation technologies company. [8] On 19 May 2003, he signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of a large high-tension power grid project by ABB with North Korea's Ministry of Power and Coal Industries, in presence of the Swiss foreign minister, the Swedish ambassador to the DPRK, and the Minister of Power and Coal Industries, "in an effort to solve North Korea's serious problems in the power sector, highlighted by its worn-out generation and transmission facilities". [9] [10] [11]
In late 2003, Abt became an agent of several multinational corporations in business fields such as infrastructure (ABB), mining (Sandvik) and textiles (Dystar) on whose behalf he realized multi-million USD sales. [12]
Abt also acted from October 2005 to February 2009 as managing director of the Pyongsu Joint Venture Company, the first foreign-invested joint venture in the pharmaceutical field. [13] [14] During this period it became the first North Korean pharmaceutical factory to reach international quality standard (called Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP) certified by the World Health Organization and the first North Korean company to win contracts against international competitors. It also set up its own pharmacy chain in the country.
Abt was the founding president of the European Business Association (EBA) in Pyongyang, [15] [16] [17] [18] set up on 28 April 2005, a de facto European Chamber of Commerce. [19] Among other things, the EBA has organized the participation of European companies at trade fairs [20] [21] in North Korea and has been hosting visiting delegations such as members from the European Union parliament and EU ambassadors to the DPRK. [22] As EBA's president, Abt strongly lobbied against economic sanctions by Western powers hurting legitimate foreign business activities in North Korea. [23] [24]
Concurrently, Abt established the Pyongyang Business School. [8] The school has organized regular cycles of postgraduate seminars [25] on strategic management and business administration for senior executive officers of North Korean ministries and enterprises from 2004. [26]
Together with Volker Eloesser,[ who? ] Abt was a co-founder/investor of the first foreign-invested software joint venture [27] by the name of Nosotek, established in 2007. [28] [29] [30]
Abt set up an online art gallery introducing North Korean painters and promoting North Korean fine art in 2008. [31] [32] [33]
In 2009 Abt left Pyongyang for Vietnam, but is still involved in North Korean issues. In 2014, he published a book about his experiences, A Capitalist in North Korea. [34] [8]
Because of his investment strategies in North Korea, Abt has been called a "controversial figure" and a member of a "secretive group of Western investors" in North Korea. [35] The investors, including Abt, use a strategy called "China Plus One" where a company "can still claim that the products were 'Made in China," says Abt, if less than 50 percent of the product is made in North Korea. [35] For example, the highest-paid factory workers in North Korea earn $75/month compared to the lowest paid in China at $270/month. The product can still be labeled "Made in China", and thus exportable to countries around the world when using the "China Plus One" strategy. [35] This strategy has been criticized for exploiting laborers in North Korea who experience human rights violations. [35]
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
North Korea has diplomatic relations with 160 states. The country's foreign relations have been dominated by its conflict with South Korea and its historical ties to the Soviet Union. Both the government of North Korea and the government of South Korea claim to be the sole legitimate government of the whole of Korea. The de facto end of the Korean War left North Korea in a military confrontation with South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
Air Koryo is the state-owned flag carrier of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Pyongyang International Airport, it operates international scheduled and charter services to destinations within Asia as well as flights on behalf of the Government of North Korea.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features online coverage.
The Chondoist Chongu Party (Korean: 천도교청우당) is a popular front party in North Korea. The party was founded on 8 February 1946 by a group of followers of the Ch'ŏndogyo. The party increasingly came under the influence of the government over time and is a part of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, a nominal alliance of parties dominated by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. The founding-leader of the party was Kim Tarhyon.
The Rason Special Economic Zone, earlier called the Rajin-Sonbong Economic Special Zone, was established in the early 1990s by the North Korean government near Rason to promote economic growth through foreign investment. It is similar to the Special Economic Zones set up by the People's Republic of China and elsewhere to pilot market economics in a designated controlled area. It is near the border with China and Russia and is a warm-water port for both countries.
The Pungsandog (Korean: 풍산개) is a breed of hunting dog from Korea, named for originating in Kimhyonggwon County, formerly Pungsan County. They are also called Phungsan, Korean Phungsan, or Poongsan dogs.
Jang Song-thaek was a North Korean politician. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, the only daughter of North Korean premier Kim Il Sung and his first wife Kim Jong-suk, and only sister of North Korean general secretary Kim Jong Il. He was therefore the uncle of the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.
Hungary–North Korea relations (Korean: 마쟈르-조선민주주의인민공화국 관계) are foreign relations between Hungary and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. Relations between the two countries existed since the Korean War, but however have evolved into conflicts.
Two rounds of North Korean missile tests were conducted in July 2009. On July 4, 2009, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea launched seven short range missiles into the Sea of Japan, after previously launching four missiles two days earlier on July 2. The missiles were launched in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874.
The Pyongyang Times is a weekly state-controlled English and French-language newspaper published in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, by the Foreign Languages Publishing House. It is the foreign-language edition of the Pyongyang Sinmun.
The award system of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was initially created less than one month after the foundation of the Republic. During the years of Japanese occupation of Korea, many of the future leaders fled to the Soviet Union. During World War II many if not close to all party leaders and Korean People's Army commanders served in the Soviet Army and as such adopted many of the Soviet awards criteria for their own. During the late 1940s and until the Sino-Soviet Split in late 1958, orders and titles were made in the Soviet Money Mints in Moscow or Leningrad. Soviet made awards were modeled after Soviet orders and made of sterling silver. Initially the orders were attached to clothing with a screw-plate, but after Soviet production stopped, production was moved to North Korea. The screwback was replaced with a pin and the silver content was replaced with cheap tin. With the exception of a few examples of modern orders, Soviet and Czech KPA awards are the most sought after in current militaria markets.
Choson Exchange is a Singapore-registered social enterprise focusing on economic policy, business and legal training for young North Koreans. Choson Exchange brings foreign volunteers to teach entrepreneurship, business, marketing, law or economics, after which the volunteers tour relevant sites in North Korea. They also sponsor North Koreans to go overseas for exposure and learning. Programs include economic policy, entrepreneurship and financial sector development.
Energy in North Korea describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in North Korea.
Minju Choson is a state-run North Korean government newspaper. It is published in Pyongyang. It was started in 1945. It is the principal newspaper of the Cabinet of North Korea and the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.
Nosotek (Korean: 노소텍,제일정보기술합영회사) is the first Western-invested IT joint venture company in North Korea.
Central African Republic–North Korea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the Central African Republic and the North Korea (DPRK). Neither country maintains an embassy in their respective capitals.
Ri Su-yong, also known as Ri Chol (이철), is a North Korean diplomat and politician, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea from April 2014 until May 2016.
Cuba–North Korea relations are the bilateral relations between Cuba and North Korea.