ID :
51551
Fri, 03/20/2009 - 19:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/51551
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea delays approval for South Korean visits to Kaesong complex
SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea was withholding approval for South
Koreans trying to enter a joint industrial park in the communist state on Friday,
Seoul officials said, again holding up businesses there even after a military
exercise ended.
The North initially shut border crossings after severing the only remaining
inter-Korean phone and fax channel in protest of a U.S.-South Korea defense drill
that got underway on March 9, calling it a rehearsal for invasion. The allies
wrapped up their annual joint exercise earlier Friday.
The North reopened but again closed the border for a period of days, leaving
hundreds of South Koreans stranded.
The arbitrary closures have sparked fears about the future of South Korean
investment in the joint industrial complex in the North Korean border town of
Kaesong. Scores of South Korean factories there were forced to considerably cut
their production for days due to a shortage of raw materials.
Only three days after normalizing border crossing on Tuesday, North Korea again
blocked crossings Friday morning, forcing hundreds of people to cancel their
trips.
"North Korea has yet to send us the letter of approval, which is making border
traffic impossible currently," said Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee
Jong-joo.
The North gave no reason for the closure, she explained. Traffic was briefly
delayed a day earlier after North Korea sent the approval letter belatedly that
morning.
The two sides currently exchange the list of visitors and subsequent approval
notices via hand-delivered letters, with the only communication channel severed.
North Korea had yet to reconnect the communication channel even after the joint
drill had ended.
The Seoul government has ruled out closing the joint Kaesong complex but warned
it would respond resolutely if the border is closed again.
If the arbitrary border control "continues even after the military exercise
period that the North had announced (as the reason for the closure), our
government will view it as a very serious situation and take appropriate measures
to deal with it," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told a parliamentary
committee.
The Kaesong complex, just an hour's drive from Seoul, is the only major
reconciliatory project that remains intact from the first inter-Korean summit in
2000. Other projects -- including tours to the North's scenic Mount Kumgang and
historic sites in Kaesong, an ancient Korean capital -- have all been suspended
as political relations degenerated last year.
There are 101 South Korean firms operating in Kaesong that employ 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 million in wages from South Korean firms
last year, according to ministry data. The amount was sizable, given the North's
estimated export volume of $4 billion.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Koreans trying to enter a joint industrial park in the communist state on Friday,
Seoul officials said, again holding up businesses there even after a military
exercise ended.
The North initially shut border crossings after severing the only remaining
inter-Korean phone and fax channel in protest of a U.S.-South Korea defense drill
that got underway on March 9, calling it a rehearsal for invasion. The allies
wrapped up their annual joint exercise earlier Friday.
The North reopened but again closed the border for a period of days, leaving
hundreds of South Koreans stranded.
The arbitrary closures have sparked fears about the future of South Korean
investment in the joint industrial complex in the North Korean border town of
Kaesong. Scores of South Korean factories there were forced to considerably cut
their production for days due to a shortage of raw materials.
Only three days after normalizing border crossing on Tuesday, North Korea again
blocked crossings Friday morning, forcing hundreds of people to cancel their
trips.
"North Korea has yet to send us the letter of approval, which is making border
traffic impossible currently," said Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee
Jong-joo.
The North gave no reason for the closure, she explained. Traffic was briefly
delayed a day earlier after North Korea sent the approval letter belatedly that
morning.
The two sides currently exchange the list of visitors and subsequent approval
notices via hand-delivered letters, with the only communication channel severed.
North Korea had yet to reconnect the communication channel even after the joint
drill had ended.
The Seoul government has ruled out closing the joint Kaesong complex but warned
it would respond resolutely if the border is closed again.
If the arbitrary border control "continues even after the military exercise
period that the North had announced (as the reason for the closure), our
government will view it as a very serious situation and take appropriate measures
to deal with it," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told a parliamentary
committee.
The Kaesong complex, just an hour's drive from Seoul, is the only major
reconciliatory project that remains intact from the first inter-Korean summit in
2000. Other projects -- including tours to the North's scenic Mount Kumgang and
historic sites in Kaesong, an ancient Korean capital -- have all been suspended
as political relations degenerated last year.
There are 101 South Korean firms operating in Kaesong that employ 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 million in wages from South Korean firms
last year, according to ministry data. The amount was sizable, given the North's
estimated export volume of $4 billion.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
