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The latest issue of DPRK Business Monthly is now available as a complimentary PDF download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore. This regular magazine looks at current international, domestic, and peninsular affairs concerning North Korea while also offering commentary and tourism information on the country.

In recent international news, Yonhap reported that North Korea has signed an air service deal with the United Arab Emirates in an apparent attempt to provide cheaper transportation means for its overseas workers, though the prospect of launching regular flights between the two nations remains unclear.

The UAE's national aviation authority and its North Korean counterpart signed a provisional air service agreement on October 15, a UAE airline company official in Dubai told Yonhap.

In inter-Korean news, Ten members of South Korea's An Jung-gun Memorial Society celebrated the 103rd anniversary of the execution of Korean independence fighter An Jung-gun together with their counterparts in Pyongyang early in November. The delegation traveled to Pyongyang via China before heading to the port cities of Haeju, An's birthplace, and Nampo.

An Jung-gun (1877-1910) is most noted for his assassination of Korea's first Japanese Governor General, Hirobumi Ito, in Harbin, China, in October 1909. He was later executed at a Japanese prison in China and has since been regarded as one of the greatest patriots in Korean history.

On the domestic front, the Choson Sinbo, a Japan-based pro-North Korean newspaper, reported on November 9 that the role and authority of the North Korean cabinet are increasing, especially in the planning and implementation of the DPRK's economic policies.

"North Korea is establishing new order and actions to maximize the potential of its national economy. The cabinet-government system and the cabinet-oriented system are being strengthened as economy-related matters are decided in cooperation with the cabinet,"the newspaper said.

The newspaper also commented that many North Korean news outlets are reporting on DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim's activities in detail, including his frequent visits to economic units, saying that "the central and regional party committees are committed to providing support and encouragement to the cabinet and various administrative and economic institutions so the workers can assume responsible roles in the economy."

In other interesting domestic news, there now appears to be more than 1.5 million mobile phone subscribers in North Korea, according to Egyptian mobile provider Orascom. Orascom runs Koryolink, the North's only mobile provider.

Orascom Telecom founder Naguib Sawiris told Forbes magazine that Koryolink is set to see revenue of US$145 million from North Korea this year, with domestic coverage expanding to over 100 cities, including Pyongyang.

Sawiris said the DPRK government has granted Koryolink a three-year extension on its exclusive operating rights until 2015.

To read further about these topics, and much more, please download the complimentary DPRK Business Monthly PDF.

DPRK Business Monthly is produced by North Korea expert Paul White.