ID :
51001
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 16:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/51001
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea fully reopens border for S. Koreans visiting joint industrial complex
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea lifted a days-long ban on border crossings Tuesday, normalizing visits by South Korean workers and cargo trucks to a joint industrial complex, but uncertainty lingered over Pyongyang's intentions and border stability.
The North Korean military sealed the border twice last week as a U.S.-South
Korean military exercise got underway in and around South Korea.
It partially reopened passage on Monday, allowing some South Korean workers to
return home from the industrial zone in North Korea's border town of Kaesong.
Traffic in the opposite direction had remained banned.
The Unification Ministry said the North's military overseeing cross-border
passage hand-delivered a letter to the South Korean management office in Kaesong
that it will approve visits both ways. The letter did not explain the reason for
the North's reversal.
"Traffic is now moving smoothly both ways across the border," ministry spokesman
Kim Ho-nyoun said.
Hundreds of South Korean managers and workers resumed trips to the Kaesong
complex, just an hour's drive from Seoul, delivering raw materials to their
factories and bringing back end products. The cargo traffic had been banned since
Friday, forcing a number of factories to considerably cut down their production.
With no explanation yet from North Korea, there was still uncertainty over
whether the border would be permanently open. The ministry spokesman said the
border passage was still "very unstable" and that the Seoul government was
encouraging firms to minimize border trips.
Mun Chang-sub, head of shoemaker Samduk Tongsang Co. and representative of an
association of South Korean firms in Kaesong, said he will protest the arbitrary
border controls to North Korean officials.
"We will clearly tell them that it's difficult for the businesses to recover if
such an unstable situation occurs again when the economy isn't good," Mun said
before leaving for the Kaesong complex.
The Kaesong venture is the only major reconciliatory project that is intact as an
outcome of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. Other projects -- tours to the
North's scenic Mount Kumgang and historic sites in Kaesong, Korea's ancient
capital -- were all suspended as political relations faltered last year.
Ninety-three South Korean firms operate in Kaesong, employing about 39,000 North
Koreans who produce clothes, watches, kitchenware, electronic equipment and other
labor-intensive goods. Their combined output was US$250 million last year.
The North Korean government received $26.8 million in wages from South Korean
firms last year, according to ministry data. The amount was a sizable income,
compared to the North's estimated export volume of $4 billion. South Korean firms
pay $70 to $110 a month for each North Korean worker, which is deposited into
government account.
By threatening the joint complex, analysts believe North Korea protested the
U.S.-South Korean military exercise, as well as what it calls South Korea's
"confrontational" policy.
Cho Bong-hyun, a North Korea analyst with South Korean major lender IBK, said
North Korea may take risks with the profitable complex to pressure the Lee
Myung-bak administration into dropping its tough policy. Citing previous meetings
with North Korean officials, Cho said North Korea may shut down the complex
within months if the political relations remain deadlocked.
"The Kaesong complex will be the last card the North can use against South
Korea," Cho said. "North Korea can give up economic benefits for politics, given
the nature of the regime. It knows how badly the shutdown would also affect the
South Korean firms when the economy is difficult. It wants to show which side is
going to suffer more from damaged political relations."
There may be discordance between the North's hardline military and inter-Korean
decision-making bodies in Pyongyang about how to handle the joint complex, said
Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University in Seoul.
"The North Korean military took the action, not considering the civilian business
part. My view is that there wasn't a general consensus inside North Korea," Koh
said.
North Korea cut off the last remaining official phone and fax channel with South
Korea last week, denouncing the March 9-20 joint exercise as a rehearsal for a
"second Korean War."
The North has also warned it can no longer guarantee the safety of South Korean
passenger jets in its airspace while the annual joint exercise is underway.
SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea lifted a days-long ban on border crossings Tuesday, normalizing visits by South Korean workers and cargo trucks to a joint industrial complex, but uncertainty lingered over Pyongyang's intentions and border stability.
The North Korean military sealed the border twice last week as a U.S.-South
Korean military exercise got underway in and around South Korea.
It partially reopened passage on Monday, allowing some South Korean workers to
return home from the industrial zone in North Korea's border town of Kaesong.
Traffic in the opposite direction had remained banned.
The Unification Ministry said the North's military overseeing cross-border
passage hand-delivered a letter to the South Korean management office in Kaesong
that it will approve visits both ways. The letter did not explain the reason for
the North's reversal.
"Traffic is now moving smoothly both ways across the border," ministry spokesman
Kim Ho-nyoun said.
Hundreds of South Korean managers and workers resumed trips to the Kaesong
complex, just an hour's drive from Seoul, delivering raw materials to their
factories and bringing back end products. The cargo traffic had been banned since
Friday, forcing a number of factories to considerably cut down their production.
With no explanation yet from North Korea, there was still uncertainty over
whether the border would be permanently open. The ministry spokesman said the
border passage was still "very unstable" and that the Seoul government was
encouraging firms to minimize border trips.
Mun Chang-sub, head of shoemaker Samduk Tongsang Co. and representative of an
association of South Korean firms in Kaesong, said he will protest the arbitrary
border controls to North Korean officials.
"We will clearly tell them that it's difficult for the businesses to recover if
such an unstable situation occurs again when the economy isn't good," Mun said
before leaving for the Kaesong complex.
The Kaesong venture is the only major reconciliatory project that is intact as an
outcome of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. Other projects -- tours to the
North's scenic Mount Kumgang and historic sites in Kaesong, Korea's ancient
capital -- were all suspended as political relations faltered last year.
Ninety-three South Korean firms operate in Kaesong, employing about 39,000 North
Koreans who produce clothes, watches, kitchenware, electronic equipment and other
labor-intensive goods. Their combined output was US$250 million last year.
The North Korean government received $26.8 million in wages from South Korean
firms last year, according to ministry data. The amount was a sizable income,
compared to the North's estimated export volume of $4 billion. South Korean firms
pay $70 to $110 a month for each North Korean worker, which is deposited into
government account.
By threatening the joint complex, analysts believe North Korea protested the
U.S.-South Korean military exercise, as well as what it calls South Korea's
"confrontational" policy.
Cho Bong-hyun, a North Korea analyst with South Korean major lender IBK, said
North Korea may take risks with the profitable complex to pressure the Lee
Myung-bak administration into dropping its tough policy. Citing previous meetings
with North Korean officials, Cho said North Korea may shut down the complex
within months if the political relations remain deadlocked.
"The Kaesong complex will be the last card the North can use against South
Korea," Cho said. "North Korea can give up economic benefits for politics, given
the nature of the regime. It knows how badly the shutdown would also affect the
South Korean firms when the economy is difficult. It wants to show which side is
going to suffer more from damaged political relations."
There may be discordance between the North's hardline military and inter-Korean
decision-making bodies in Pyongyang about how to handle the joint complex, said
Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University in Seoul.
"The North Korean military took the action, not considering the civilian business
part. My view is that there wasn't a general consensus inside North Korea," Koh
said.
North Korea cut off the last remaining official phone and fax channel with South
Korea last week, denouncing the March 9-20 joint exercise as a rehearsal for a
"second Korean War."
The North has also warned it can no longer guarantee the safety of South Korean
passenger jets in its airspace while the annual joint exercise is underway.
