N. Korea eases paperwork for South Koreans traveling to Kaesong park

SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- In a small, attention-getting move, North Korea decided
to make it easier for South Koreans to travel to a joint industrial park on its
soil by car beginning this week, Seoul officials said Sunday.
The North's move comes as the fate of the inter-Korean factory park remains
uncertain, with the communist country pressing for steep wage and rent hikes. The
North has even hinted at closing the five-year-old venture unless its demands are
met.
The move also comes amid heightened cross-border tensions following the North's
missile and nuclear tests. The North is currently under stricter U.N. sanctions
because of its second nuclear test on May 25.
According to Seoul's Kaesong Industrial Complex Management Committee, the North,
beginning on Monday, will no longer require South Koreans driving to the complex
to carry photos and detailed travel plans of every passenger. The North agreed
late last month that the documents can be handed in by the committee instead,
committee officials said.
Pyongyang has been tightening regulations over the industrial park, set up in the
North's border town of Kaesong following the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
Other cross-border joint projects, including tours to scenic resorts in the
North, have all been suspended.
Inter-Korean tensions have spiked since conservative President Lee Myung-tak took
office in Seoul early last year, cutting off generous food and other aid
shipments that were available in the past 10 years under two liberal governments.
North Korea responded by demanding steep hikes in wages for its 40,000 workers
hired by some 100 South Korean garment and other small-size firms operating at
the joint park.
South Korea has turned down the North's demand, and negotiations to settle the
dispute have made little progress.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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