Chinese firm Shangdi Guanqun Investment signed a letter of intent to invest US$2 billion in North Korea’s Rason Special Economic Zone, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal was signed just a few weeks after the North’s shelling of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong island, the report said. The investment plan, as described by a Shangdi staffmember, is to focus on infrastructure development, including docks, a power plant, roads and other facilities over a 10-year period. The North Korean government has not yet approved the application, nor has China’s Ministry of Commerce. The company’s website says it is administered by a state-owned enterprise, but the company spokesperson said the company is "100% private." The US government said it was aware of the proposed deal, but discounted its significance. "No investment project will enable North Korea to meet the needs of its people as long as its government continues its destabilizing behavior," said an unnamed senior US official.