The US boss of a joint venture run by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Unification Church of the Republic of Korea said on Tuesday he has been granted rare honorary citizenship by Pyongyang.

Park Sang-kwon, CEO of Pyeonghwa Motors, told Seoul-based Yonhap news agency that he received the citizenship in Pyongyang last month. He said the move was a bid to encourage new investment by him.

"This means that Pyongyang has acknowledged the trust they had put in me. They were also encouraging me to start new projects in there, more freely and aggressively," Park was quoted as saying.