Yang's folly likely to go on the block

HONG KONG -- Holland Village, the estate developed by Yang Bin, head of North Korea's new special administrative zone, will likely be put up at auction, Hong Kong media reported Wednesday, quoting Chinese police authorities. Mr. Yang, a Chinese-born Dutch businessman appointed last month to lead the capitalist experiment, has been under house arrest in Shenyang since early this month on charges of illegal business activities.

The daily Wen Wei Po reported that Mr. Yang's Euro-Asian Agriculture Group cannot pay its debts. In addition to loans, Mr. Yang owes at least 10 million yuan ($1.2 million) of back taxes. The newspaper also said China is charging that Mr. Yang's company developed Holland Village illegally. Mr. Yang obtained a permit to develop the property for growing flowers, but added residential districts five times larger than the approved size.

A North Korean delegation discussed Mr. Yang's tribulations with Chinese officials Tuesday, the BBC reported. Yang Hyong-sop, vice president of North Korea's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, met separately with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Jiang Chunyun, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress. Mr. Yang and China's handling of North Korean defectors were discussed.

by Lee Yang-soo