World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz called Monday on North Korea to follow neighbouring China's lead in opening up its economy, but said it would not necessarily bring political change.
Wolfowitz, formerly a leading hawk in US President George W. Bush's administration, said that China was the "relevant parallel" for impoverished North Korea.
"China was able (to) undertake enormous economic change by changing the policy framework," he told reporters in Tokyo, where he is attending the bank's annual meeting on development.
"It's possible to have a great deal of economic improvement, I'm thinking, without necessarily radical political change," he said.
"Certainly the people in North Korea would be much better off with that and certainly the opportunity would present itself to engage in the parallel kind of movement" as China, he said.
"I know my institution would be very eager to participate in such a development."
Last week, the World Bank unveiled an ambitious plan of lending annual 1.5 billion dollars for the next five years to China, making it the global lender's biggest recipient along with India.
North Korea - part of Bush's "axis of evil" along with Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Iran - is boycotting talks on ending its nuclear program, accusing the United States of hostility and demanding an end to US financial sanctions.
Wolfowitz was a leading planner of the Iraq invasion as the number two at the Pentagon until he was appointed last year at the World Bank.
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