(LEAD) S. Korea to build nursery at joint industrial park in North

(LEAD) NK park-nursery


(ATTN: UPDATES with costs, business council's reaction in paras 5-9, TRIMS lead)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will build a nursery at a joint
industrial park in the North, officials said Tuesday, a project long demanded by
North Korea to help the tens of thousands of its women who work there.

The Koreas have been unanimous on the need to build a daycare center for female
employees at the joint park in Kaesong, just north of the border, but the
construction was put off due to deteriorating political relations.
The South Korean government "will begin construction with the aim of ensuring
completion by the end of this year," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung
said. The two Koreas will sign an agreement on the project on Wednesday, he
added.
The joint park hosts 114 South Korean firms operating with about 40,000 North
Korean employees. Female workers make up for 85 percent, and they are mostly in
their 20s and 30s, according to ministry data. The nursery will accommodate up to
200 children, Chun said.
The construction comes as a response to a series of conciliatory moves by
Pyongyang to normalize joint business ventures. Earlier this month, the North
withdrew its earlier demand for hefty wage hikes for local workers at the Kaesong
park and settled on a five-percent increase.
Chun did not say whether the North's softening policy was behind Seoul's decision
on the nursery, asserting the government considered its "humanitarian aspect" and
the expected "boon to productivity."
The estimated construction cost of some 900 million won (US$747,633) will be
covered by the ministry's budget, and operational costs such as electricity and
food will be shared between the North Korean government and South Korean
employers, he added.
The scale of the nursery would be insufficient, but businesses operating in
Kaesong hailed the decision as a first step. Mothers previously had to leave
their children at home or at a poorly-equipped North Korea-run facility, which
they believe has impeded the workers' productivity.
"North Korean workers will really like it. A nursery will be of great help to the
women who still have to breastfeed their babies," said Lee Im-dong, a director at
the Kaesong Business Council that represents the South Korean firms at the park.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)