This is despite the setback last week when Pyongyang's delegation to the Unit ed Nations summit returned home in a huff after protesting at US security search es. This meant the delegations could attend the main sessions of the meeting but would not be allowed into restricted meetings, including some committee meetings. The presence of senior North Korean official s in Prague may allow for a series of bilateral meetings with ministers from ind ustrial countries eager to receive a first-hand report on one of the world's mos t obscure economies.
Few statistics are available on North Korea.
North Korea recently sought to revive its long- standing applicatio n to join the Asian Development Bank but its approach was rebuffed by the US and Japan amid concern at its missile programme. Similar objections would almost ce rtainly be raised to any application to join the IMF and the World Bank, though some development officials believe informal policy advice might be available ahe ad of membership. A similar approach was adopted by Vietnam after it deci ded to reform its economy more than a decade ago. Bank officials say that after apparently going slow on reform, Vietnam is showing renewed interest.