N. Korea withdraws demand for steep wage hike at joint park

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea withdrew its demand for a hefty wage increase for its workers at a joint industrial park and instead proposed a pay raise cap, officials in Seoul said Friday, as anger grew in the South over a deadly flash flood caused when the North opened a dam.

North Korea had earlier demanded a four-fold wage increase and a steep hike in
land fees at the South Korean-run park, which sits on the northern side of the
border. That would have been an increase in monthly wage for each North Korean
worker from US$70-80 to about $300.
North Korea's management office at the Kaesong park "proposed a draft agreement
to our management office on Thursday to keep the maximum rate of wage increase to
5 percent the same as before," South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee
Jong-joo said.
The compromise came as criticism of North Korea surged in South Korea after an
abrupt discharge of dam water caused a flash flood along the banks of the Imjin
River near the border and killed six people who were camping or fishing there.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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