Kaesong businesses suffering with border closure

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean businesses operating in a joint industrial complex north of the Demilitarized Zone were growing worried about their earnings Sunday as the inter-Korean border remained closed for a third day.

North Korea again sealed off the border on Friday, the second time in a week.
Crossings were initially closed on Monday with Pyongyang severing the last
remaining inter-Korean military hotline, through which Seoul had cleared the
names of people going in and out of the complex in Kaesong. They were reopened
the next day.
Yoo Chang-keun, CEO of a plastics maker in the complex and vice president of an
association of firms running factories in the border city, said that if the
closure were extended "an increasing number of companies may face a heavy blow
due to order cancellations amid rising uncertainties."
Production has nearly come to a halt, said Lee Kwang-yong, who manages an
electronics company at the industrial park. His firm is counting on a shipment of
material supplies by Tuesday.
The current blockage is the first the Kaesong park has experienced since it
opened in 2004.
Hundreds of South Korean workers remained stranded at the complex and the
delivery of goods and raw materials has also been suspended.
Yoo expressed regret at North Korea "holding the border city and workers there
hostage." He also called for swift action on the part of the Seoul government,
saying it should "ensure the protection of nationals' property."
pbr@yna.co.kr
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