Seoul to vitalize Kaesong industrial complex: unification minister

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will vitalize the inter-Korean industrial
park in the North Korean city of Kaesong under any circumstances, the South
Korean unification minister said Tuesday.
"The government will make effort in order not to bring forth an extreme situation
of the closure of the industrial complex under any circumstances," Minister Kim
Ha-joong said in a meeting of the parliament's diplomacy, trade and unification
committee.
"Don't be doubtful about the government's attitude or intention concerning the
Kaesong complex," he stressed.
Kim also said that the government has secured the budget for the construction of
infrastructure in the complex, such as housing and roads.
The minister's remarks followed threats regarding the complex from North Korean
military officials last week.
During their visit to Kaesong on Nov. 6, North Korean military officials, led by
Gen. Kim Yong-chol, head of the policy planning office of the North Korean
National Defense Commission (NDC), threatened unspecified "grave consequences"
regarding the complex in reaction to South Korean civic groups sending
anti-Pyongyang leaflets by balloon across the border.
The North Koreans asked South Korean firms how long it would take for them to
pull out of the complex, according to South Korean officials from the firms.
Seoul has said it believes North Korea will not take any measures to close down
Kaesong since it is a symbol of inter-Korean peace and reconciliation, and
because Kim Jong-il has a vested interest in it.
Political relations between the two Koreas have been strained since the launch of
the conservative South Korean government, led by President Lee Myung-bak, in
February. The Kaesong industrial park, where about 35,000 North Koreans work for
83 South Korean manufacturers, has not been affected by the chilly relations so
far.