North Korea is expected to soon rejoin a United Nations Development Program project to develop the Tumen River, which stretches across China, Russia and North Korea.

A top official from the Taepung International Investment Group --- North Korea's main channel for attracting foreign investment --- also says that Pyongyang will launch next month a state development bank that will oversee economic development projects.

The source says North Korea aims to attract global investment through the Tumen River project and that the Najin, Seonbong and Cheongjin areas in the North will be developed as a logistics hub of Northeast Asia.

Government agencies will have a 70-percent stake in the development bank, which will open with ten billion dollars in initial capital. The remaining 30 percent will be granted to foreign investors through the Taepung group.

The river project is to build a large-scale industrial complex in the river area. Five nations --- the two Koreas, China, Russia and Mongolia --- launched the project 18 years ago, but North Korea abruptly pulled out in November.