ID :
53949
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 16:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/53949
The shortlink copeid
No plans in Seoul to cancel inter-Korean projects
(ATTN: RECASTS header and lead; UPDATES with joint projects in N. Korea, S. Korean
worker still detained)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has no plans to terminate joint economic
projects with North Korea, officials said Sunday, following a rocket launch that
Seoul says is a "serious threat" to regional peace.
"There is nothing to tell you yet with regard to any sanctions being considered
in regard to inter-Korean relations overall," said Lee Jong-joo, spokeswoman for
the Unification Ministry that oversees inter-Korean affairs.
Pyongyang went ahead with the launch at 11:30 a.m. Sunday local time of what it
has called a communications satellite.
The South Korean presidential office called the launch a "serious threat" and
vowed to take stern countermeasures.
The ministry spokeswoman said joint economic ventures, such as a South
Korean-developed industrial complex in North Korea's border town of Kaesong, will
continue operation, although the government has asked businessmen and aid
activists to minimize their visits to North Korea for safety reasons.
"Our government will consider taking measures that are necessary for managing
inter-Korean relations in a stable manner and ensuring the safety of our citizens
staying in North Korea," Lee said.
Following the government's directive, scores of South Koreans left Pyongyang on
the eve of the launch, except one businessman who insisted on staying.
In the joint complex in Kaesong, however, about 600 South Korean workers were
still staying to continue industrial production, Lee said.
In Kaesong, just an hour's drive from Seoul, 101 small garment and other
labor-intensive South Korean firms are currently operating with about 39,000
North Korean employees.
North Korea continued to hold a South Korean worker in the Kaesong complex and
still reject access to him, the spokeswoman said.
The worker, only identified by Seoul officials as an employee of Hyundai Asan
Corp. in his 40s, was detained on Monday for allegedly criticizing the North's
political system and trying to tempt a female North Korean employee to defect.
Cho Kun-shik, president of Hyundai Asan, traveled to Kaesong on Friday to request
a meeting with his employee only to be rejected by North Korea. Hyundai Asan, a
unit of Hyundai Group, is a major developer of joint economic ventures in North
Korea, including the Kaesong complex.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
worker still detained)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has no plans to terminate joint economic
projects with North Korea, officials said Sunday, following a rocket launch that
Seoul says is a "serious threat" to regional peace.
"There is nothing to tell you yet with regard to any sanctions being considered
in regard to inter-Korean relations overall," said Lee Jong-joo, spokeswoman for
the Unification Ministry that oversees inter-Korean affairs.
Pyongyang went ahead with the launch at 11:30 a.m. Sunday local time of what it
has called a communications satellite.
The South Korean presidential office called the launch a "serious threat" and
vowed to take stern countermeasures.
The ministry spokeswoman said joint economic ventures, such as a South
Korean-developed industrial complex in North Korea's border town of Kaesong, will
continue operation, although the government has asked businessmen and aid
activists to minimize their visits to North Korea for safety reasons.
"Our government will consider taking measures that are necessary for managing
inter-Korean relations in a stable manner and ensuring the safety of our citizens
staying in North Korea," Lee said.
Following the government's directive, scores of South Koreans left Pyongyang on
the eve of the launch, except one businessman who insisted on staying.
In the joint complex in Kaesong, however, about 600 South Korean workers were
still staying to continue industrial production, Lee said.
In Kaesong, just an hour's drive from Seoul, 101 small garment and other
labor-intensive South Korean firms are currently operating with about 39,000
North Korean employees.
North Korea continued to hold a South Korean worker in the Kaesong complex and
still reject access to him, the spokeswoman said.
The worker, only identified by Seoul officials as an employee of Hyundai Asan
Corp. in his 40s, was detained on Monday for allegedly criticizing the North's
political system and trying to tempt a female North Korean employee to defect.
Cho Kun-shik, president of Hyundai Asan, traveled to Kaesong on Friday to request
a meeting with his employee only to be rejected by North Korea. Hyundai Asan, a
unit of Hyundai Group, is a major developer of joint economic ventures in North
Korea, including the Kaesong complex.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
