ID :
55030
Mon, 04/13/2009 - 07:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/55030
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea eases cap on staff in inter-Korean complex
SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea decided to lift the limit on the number of its citizens allowed to stay in an industrial complex in North Korea that was enforced following last week's launch of a North Korean rocket, officials said Sunday.
Seoul reduced the number of its people in the Kaesong industrial complex to a
daily average of 700 from the previous 1,100 after the North fired a rocket last
Sunday, which the U.S. and its allies believe was a test of missile delivery
technology.
"The government will allow companies to determine the number of employees who
visit and stay in the complex starting Monday," a government official said on
condition of anonymity. "But it is a temporary move."
The government could again impose the limit at any time, as inter-Korean
relations remain uncertain following North Korea's rocket launch, he said.
Seoul's change in its stance comes after President Lee Myung-bak said in a
Cabinet meeting last week that "it is desirable to manage the staff limit
flexibly in order not to affect the normal operations of companies operating in
the complex."
The imposition of the staff limit also came as North Korea detained an employee
of Hyundai Asan Corp., which is spearheading inter-Korean business projects, on
March 30 for allegedly denouncing its regime.
The Kaesong complex is one of the culminating achievements of inter-Korean
rapprochement reached during Seoul's previous two governments. The two Koreas
launched the complex in 2004 in accordance with the agreement of their first
summit in 2000.
Inter-Korean relations, however, have been strained since the conservative
government of President Lee took office in February 2008.
In November, North Korea decided to reduce the number of company employees
residing in Kaesong by 30 percent to 880, citing the South's hostile policy
against it.
South and North Korea remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War
ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)
Seoul reduced the number of its people in the Kaesong industrial complex to a
daily average of 700 from the previous 1,100 after the North fired a rocket last
Sunday, which the U.S. and its allies believe was a test of missile delivery
technology.
"The government will allow companies to determine the number of employees who
visit and stay in the complex starting Monday," a government official said on
condition of anonymity. "But it is a temporary move."
The government could again impose the limit at any time, as inter-Korean
relations remain uncertain following North Korea's rocket launch, he said.
Seoul's change in its stance comes after President Lee Myung-bak said in a
Cabinet meeting last week that "it is desirable to manage the staff limit
flexibly in order not to affect the normal operations of companies operating in
the complex."
The imposition of the staff limit also came as North Korea detained an employee
of Hyundai Asan Corp., which is spearheading inter-Korean business projects, on
March 30 for allegedly denouncing its regime.
The Kaesong complex is one of the culminating achievements of inter-Korean
rapprochement reached during Seoul's previous two governments. The two Koreas
launched the complex in 2004 in accordance with the agreement of their first
summit in 2000.
Inter-Korean relations, however, have been strained since the conservative
government of President Lee took office in February 2008.
In November, North Korea decided to reduce the number of company employees
residing in Kaesong by 30 percent to 880, citing the South's hostile policy
against it.
South and North Korea remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War
ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)
