Thai foreign minister says North Korean counterpart invited investment

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, left, shakes hands with his Thai counterpart Thanasak Patimaprakorn in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Aug. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Penny Yi Wang) (The Associated Press)

Thai Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn speaks at a press conference after a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong in Bangkok Monday, Aug. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Penny Yi Wang) (The Associated Press)

BANGKOK – Thailand's foreign minister says his North Korean counterpart has invited Thai businesses to invest in in his country because Thais are trustworthy and don't interfere with matters that don't involve them.

Thai Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn said visiting North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong told him in a meeting Monday that Thai businesses are invited to invest in a special economic zone in North Korea that will open soon, and would be given incentives and privileges. Ri did not speak to the media.

A subsidiary of Thai telecommunications company Loxley has been a major investor in North Korea for more than a decade and helped the communist nation modernize its communications infrastructure.