Seoul, South Korea ? Undaunted by blackouts, food shortages, crumbling infrastructure and a standoff over nuclear weapons, European businesses have opened their first chamber of commerce in communist North Korea.

The Korea-Europe Technology and Economy Services center, a two-person satellite office of the European Union chamber of commerce in Seoul, opened its doors Jan. 5 in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

Unlike U.S. competitors, who are hobbled by Cold War-era sanctions, European companies are relatively free to set up shop in North Korea and see practicality, not politics, as the major hurdle.

The mission of the new chamber of commerce is to help European businesses break into the North Korean market with support in finding partners, dealing with authorities, finding investment opportunities and funds, navigating red tape and jumping language barriers.

“There’s a lot of interest and requests about doing business in North Korea,” said Jean-Jacques Grauhar, secretary-general of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea. “Europeans have a long-term approach and are interested in having a foothold in the country.”

Europe exported $384 million worth of goods, mostly machinery, to North Korea in 2002, while importing $128 million in goods from North Korea, according to the most recent figures. That’s dwarfed by the $43.5 billion in two-way EU trade with South Korea.

European companies are primarily interested in North Korean mining and infrastructure development, textile investment, machinery exports and seafood imports, Grauhar said.