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Some people put their money in aboriginal art, Danish film projects or ostrich farms. But as exotic investments go, it's tough to beat the latest opportunity on the market: a chance to buy into the totalitarian pariah state of North Korea. London-based firm Anglo-Sino Capital Partners has received regulatory approval from Britain's Financial Services Authority for its Chosun Development and Investment Fund, which is seeking $50 million from investors. The fund promises in a press release to "deliver significant return on investment in the near term," by focusing on North Korea's natural resources, such as gold and other metals.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is, of course, better known for its secretive communist regime, its erratic leader Kim Jong Il and its controversial nuclear program. But Colin McAskill, one of the fund's principals, believes the country has considerable potential. "Here's an emerging market with vast mineral resources which the rest of the world needs," he says. "They need hard currency. So why can't we help them get it out of the ground and make a profit at the same time?" McAskill, who claims to have business ties to North Korea stretching back 28 years, points out that the country once shipped high-quality gold bullion to London. That stopped in 1994, and he says his fund hopes to restart it by resuscitating the gold mines. Since North Korea doesn't have a stock market or a flourishing private sector, infrastructure projects are one of the few ways the fund can invest in the country.

The North Koreans could do with the money. John Swenson-Wright, a North Korea expert at British think tank Chatham House, says the economy is in such a disastrous state that there's "fragmentary evidence" the regime is warming to the idea of foreign investment. McAskill says that interest in the fund so far has been "spectacular," but the Bush Administration, which included North Korea in its "axis of evil," may not be too thrilled about Western money going to help revive the North's economy. They won't be caught entirely by surprise, though. According to its website, one of the fund's principals is a former State Department official, Lynn J. Turk, and McAskill says the U.S. has been "fully informed" about the plans.

• Peter Gumbel
• T-bills too tame? A new U.K. fund is seeking to invest in the Hermit Kingdom's mineral wealth