Yangsan City’s Ungsang Branch Office recently announced that Solbat Hwangtotgil has rapidly gained popularity as a local attraction since its completion in July Solbat Hwangtotgil is a 260-meter-long yellow soil path located in Solbat Park within Ungsang Sports Park The path is equipped with a foot washing area and a wet yellow soil experience center provides a serene environment with amenities like pergolas making it an ideal spot for a forest bath and barefoot walking the site has attracted an average of 300 visitors per day are also in the works to ensure that visitors can enjoy the area comfortably and safely Read now > Sign up for our weekly newsletter of articles from Japan China’s Yatai Group announced plans this week for major investment in the Rason special economic zone located in the northern tip of North Korea Workers’ Party of Korea vice chairman and North Korean second-in-command Jang Song-thaek has been busy in China this week working to drum up economic cooperation and support for his country’s development a conglomerate based in the city of Changchun in Jilin province put out a stock market announcement on August 15 saying it had signed a framework agreement with the Rason committee the day before for investment and cooperation toward the building of a construction materials complex in the city The complex would be built on a 500,000 square meter plot of land around Ungsang Harbor through investment from the people’s committee and group with the city providing free land for the building of an exclusive railroad and highway Yatai would be exclusively in charge of the complex’s development The area is set to include production lines for cement which may be part of a bigger plan to develop the city China and North Korea previously agreed to develop Rason as a manufacturing Yatai is one of China’s biggest cement manufacturers and has additional ventures in the areas of real estate Its decision to contract with Rason has observers asking whether Pyongyang’s desperate calls for Chinese corporate investment are being answered Analysts said China seems to be taking more active steps to support North Korea after signs that the new Kim Jong-un administration is working to improve its relationship with the outside amid a push for economic reforms including a full restoration of its ties with Beijing a number of different agreements were signed between the North Korean and Chinese central governments and programs were established at the local level between Rason and Jilin and between North Korea’s Hwanggumpyong area and China’s Liaoning province putting into place systems for moving forward with the two special districts’ development he met with provincial Communist Party secretary Sun Zhengcai to request assistance with Rason’s development where he is believed to have met with local secretary Wang Min to discuss the need for active support on the Hwanggumpyong/Wihwa Island development effort He is also known to have done a local inspection of Dandong and other areas of Liaoning on August 16 vehicles believed to be carrying Jang and his party were spotted traveling under armed guard by police from foreign guest facilities in Shenyang Analysts anticipated Jang would be traveling to Beijing on Thursday for a meeting with the central leadership there Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr] Yangsan City is launching its urban summer resort water parks for families opening on July 12th and running until August 26th The water parks will be located in Mulgeum Hwangsan Park and the operating period has been extended The operating period for Design Park and Myeongdong Park is from July 12th (Friday) to August 25th (Sunday) and for Hwangsan Park from July 20th (Saturday) to August 26th (Monday) Design Park and Myeongdong Park will be closed every Thursday while Hwangsan Park will be closed every Monday for facility inspection To maintain a safe and enjoyable environment and facility maintenance will be performed daily The number of professionally qualified safety personnel and nursing staff will be maximized Mulgeum Hwangsan Park features the largest water park in Yangsan City and tunnel fountain in a scenic natural setting near the Nakdong River The park also includes a nearby camping site Mulgeum Design Park boasts two combined water play platforms An additional Mongolian tent will be installed for user convenience The park also features Seokgasan waterfall Woongsang Myeongdong Park includes a large water play slide for dynamic enjoyment such as a water play combination playpen with a depth of 30 cm for children