Development of the northeast Rason Economic and Trade Zone is making headway in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official KCNA news agency reported Monday.

The zone, established in 1991 to boost economic growth through foreign investment, has made rapid progress since the law on the Rason Economic and Trade Zone was amended in December, the report said.

With infrastructure projects increasing in the zone, the number of joint ventures and foreign private businesses involved in light industry and agriculture is steadily increasing, it said.

Reconstruction of the 50-km Rason Port-Wonjong road, which was started in June 2011 by China and the DPRK, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to the report.

Meanwhile, renovation of a cross-border railway linking Rajin to Russia's Far Eastern border town of Khasan is under way, the report said.

Reconstruction of No. 3 pier at Rajin Port is progressing as scheduled, while the loop line along the Rason-Hunchun-Khasan line is gaining momentum under an agreement with China and Russia, the report said.

The second Rason International Trade Fair is due to open in August.

The Rason zone is adjacent to Yanbian Prefecture in northeast China's Jilin province and Russia's southeastern region of Primorsky Krai.