Sources in China say North Korea recently sent about ten officials to China for training in market economy principles.

The North Koreans, led by a deputy director-level economic official, reportedly studied fundamentals of auditing, accounting, banking, insurance, and business management at the Shenzhen campus of Jinan University from November 6th through December 21st.

A Shenzhen-based committee of ethnic Korean businessmen said that, in addition to in-class education, the officials also visited South Korean firms that had invested in the region.

The education program was reportedly organized by South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

The officials' training, coupled with news of Kim Jong-il's purported visit to industrial centers in China's southern region, has led analysts to speculate that the impoverished North is seeking to embark on a new round of economic reforms.