North Korea has launched its State Development Bank.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency says the bank held its first board meeting on Wednesday and elected National Defense Commission representative Jon Il-chun as director-general of the board and Pak Chol-su, a Korean resident in China, as deputy director-general.

The news agency said the bank will be a comprehensive commercial financial institute making investments in state projects, adding that it has modern regulations and systems that will enable it to conduct business with global banks and organizations.

The report said the Wednesday board meeting also approved the bank's regulations and operational budget plans.