Shhh, it’s North Korea on the line (May 28, 2007)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Its not every day that Chairman Kim Jong Il invites you to North Korea.

Oriental Minerals (OTL-V) Chris Sennitt plans to visit the secretive communist world beyond the 38th parallel sometime in the future but for now everything is hush-hush.

Its the great untapped, unconquered as far as Western companies go and weve got an invitation, says Sennitt, vice-president exploration for Oriental.

The Australian geologist is sitting beside a beer-filled cooler on a tour bus about four hours outside of Seoul. Hes giving a group of Canadian analysts and brokers a taste of Orientals South Korean projects. His guests relax in the air-conditioned bus as it cruises along the smooth, paved highway.

The atmosphere in North Korea may be a little different.

I think its going to be extremely difficult, okay? Sennitt says. Logistics, travel its going to take you three days to travel to some of these mines.

Oriental, which is based in Vancouver, is fairly new to South Korea, but being the only foreign company in the country right now has given it a little leverage.

Combine that with Sennitts familiarity with Korean business culture and a key South Korean business partner with government ties and you have a mining company with a diverse portfolio that includes uranium, gold, silver, tungsten and molybdenum projects, but so far, just in South Korea.

We are getting a report from consultants inside (North Korea) and they are going to get me data on the top ten deposits, Sennitt says. I always thought we wouldnt be allowed to get the best ones but I think we might.

Sennitt couldnt say what kind of deposits Oriental is looking for in North Korea a Stalinist regime known for uranium enrichment and missile programs that frighten the world.

Sennitt says the reason behind the invitation is that North Korea wants to modernize its industry and become less reliant on China.

This country, South Korea, is investing heavily in North Korea, he says. And thats where it ultimately comes together, five, ten years down the track.

For that reason, Sennitt is sure that Oriental isnt the only mining company considering a rendezvous in North Korea. The country, which needs cash, relies heavily on aid from foreign countries. Aid agencies estimate that up to 2 million people have died since the mid 1990s due to famine and economic mismangement.

I think the South is pretty scared of the immense amount of infrastructure needed to bring North Korea to the same level, Sennitt says.

South Korea has come a long way in recent years, while North Korea has gone in a different direction.

The countries split in two along the 38th parallel following the Second World War after being ruled by the Japanese since 1910. South Korea has struggled its way towards the successful, democratic country it is today. It has struggled, along with the rest of the world, with North Koreas nuclear ambition, human rights abuses and closed-door system that have perpetuated into a bleak situation for its people.

In the meantime, Sennitt will keep his drill team busy in South Korea while he awaits the report mining report from North Korea.

He knows Oriental isnt the only company with such an invitation his former boss at Indochina Goldfields received one in the 1990s.

Who knows how its going to pan out, Sennitt says. Its high risk and we have a long way to go yet.