OSAKA -- In his recent meeting with North Korean Vice Premier Kwak Pom Gi, the 71-year-old owner of Kyoto-based taxi company MK Corp. was told of three areas in which the Stalinist country is seeking assistance.

"Power generation is the first priority, followed by mineral resources development. Only then comes tourism, just as an extra," Sadao Aoki said.

Reckoning that the first two fields -- power generation and mineral resource development -- are beyond his own capacity, he told the officials he met that he would call on the Japanese business community for cooperation.