SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- North Korea spent US$10 million to build a museum near the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, and the museum will begin its operations in April, a news report said Tuesday.

   Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that the museum is located near the entrance of the Angkor Archaeological Park in northern Cambodia, the place of the largest Hindu temple complex in the world.

   The overseas construction unit of the state-run Mansudae Art Studio, the North's group of artists, is building the museum with the $10 million investment from the North Korean regime, according to the RFA report.

   The radio station said the North is donating the museum as a gesture of friendship with the Southeast Asian country.

   The two countries maintain close ties, with the North operating a variety of business projects in Cambodia.

   The museum will feature a mega-size mosaic work by North Korean artists as well as a portrait of a Buddha, according to the report.

   pbr@yna.co.kr
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