ID :
61330
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/61330
The shortlink copeid
Conservatives call for pullout from Kaesong joint park
SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- A senior conservative politician on Tuesday urged the
South Korean government to risk pulling out from an inter-Korean joint industrial
park rather than be dragged along by Pyongyang's unilateral demands.
"Our government should first lay out the bottom line, and in case that doesn't
work with North Korea, it should be prepared to pull out," Lee Hoi-chang,
chairman of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party, said in an in-house
meeting.
Lee's position is drawing support from some hardliners in the South, following
North Korea's announcement last week that it has scrapped all wage and land
contracts regarding the inter-Korean complex. Pyongyang told South Korean firms
operating at the park, which is on North Korean soil, to accept the new terms or
leave.
"Only after it's prepared for a pullout should the government engage in
negotiations. It should not be dragged along at North Korea's whim and must be
able to lead the negotiations to protect our business interests," Lee said.
The complex, just an hour's drive from Seoul in the border city of Kaesong, is a
major legacy of the previous liberal Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun governments
that tried to reconcile with and open up the North through cooperation projects.
More than 100 South Korean firms now operate at the park, matching their capital
and technology with the cheap but skilled labor offered by nearly 40,000 North
Korean employees.
Seoul officials said they will continue efforts to seek dialogue with Pyongyang
to keep the joint park alive, after their two earlier proposals for talks were
rejected or ignored. At inter-Korean talks on April 21, North Korea said the
wages South Korean firms pay local employees are too low and that they should
also start paying for land use by next year, four years ahead of schedule.
Pyongyang has refused to discuss the fate of a South Korean worker being held in
Kaesong, identified only by his family name Yu. The employee of Hyundai Asan
Corp, the developer of the joint park, was detained on March 30 , accused of
criticizing the North's political system. North Korea has denied access to the
man.
The two sides have been unable to set up the second round of talks due to agenda
differences.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
South Korean government to risk pulling out from an inter-Korean joint industrial
park rather than be dragged along by Pyongyang's unilateral demands.
"Our government should first lay out the bottom line, and in case that doesn't
work with North Korea, it should be prepared to pull out," Lee Hoi-chang,
chairman of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party, said in an in-house
meeting.
Lee's position is drawing support from some hardliners in the South, following
North Korea's announcement last week that it has scrapped all wage and land
contracts regarding the inter-Korean complex. Pyongyang told South Korean firms
operating at the park, which is on North Korean soil, to accept the new terms or
leave.
"Only after it's prepared for a pullout should the government engage in
negotiations. It should not be dragged along at North Korea's whim and must be
able to lead the negotiations to protect our business interests," Lee said.
The complex, just an hour's drive from Seoul in the border city of Kaesong, is a
major legacy of the previous liberal Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun governments
that tried to reconcile with and open up the North through cooperation projects.
More than 100 South Korean firms now operate at the park, matching their capital
and technology with the cheap but skilled labor offered by nearly 40,000 North
Korean employees.
Seoul officials said they will continue efforts to seek dialogue with Pyongyang
to keep the joint park alive, after their two earlier proposals for talks were
rejected or ignored. At inter-Korean talks on April 21, North Korea said the
wages South Korean firms pay local employees are too low and that they should
also start paying for land use by next year, four years ahead of schedule.
Pyongyang has refused to discuss the fate of a South Korean worker being held in
Kaesong, identified only by his family name Yu. The employee of Hyundai Asan
Corp, the developer of the joint park, was detained on March 30 , accused of
criticizing the North's political system. North Korea has denied access to the
man.
The two sides have been unable to set up the second round of talks due to agenda
differences.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
