Seoul vows support for NKorea estate

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 2:16 AM Posted by Beijing News


South Korea vowed to do all it could to keep a joint industrial estate in North Korea in operation after the communist state scrapped wage and rent agreements there.

South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek said Seoul would continue to pursue dialogue with Pyongyang to settle the dispute over the Kaesong estate, which lies just north of the border.

"The Kaesong industrial complex is now at a critical juncture," he told a forum here. "But our government will make utmost efforts to ensure its stable development."

Hyun called the estate "the last-remaining hope for the future" of the two Koreas and urged Pyongyang to discuss the issue.

His remarks followed some media reports that Seoul may consider closing the Seoul-funded industrial park, opened in 2005 as a symbol of reconciliation but which has often been hit by political tensions.

On Friday, the North declared all wage and rent agreements with the South "null and void" at the estate and ordered about 100 South Korean companies to leave unless they pay higher salaries and land-use fees.

Seoul rejected the North's "unilateral" move, and says the fate of a South Korean manager, detained at the estate since March 30, must be settled before any other negotiations.

The South proposed resuming inter-Korean talks Monday to tackle the issue, but Pyongyang has yet to reply, unification ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo said.

"Inter-Korean talks should not stop here," Hyun told journalists ahead of the forum, saying the government planned dialogue "at an appropriate time and appropriate manner."

Ties between the two Koreas have worsened since a conservative government took office in Seoul in February 2008 and vowed to link major economic aid to the North's progress in nuclear disarmament.

At a rare meeting on April 21, the communist state demanded pay rises for its workers and land-use fees while denying Seoul access to the detained South Korean worker accused of criticising the North.

The Seoul government and South Korean businesses have invested 730 billion won 548 million dollars into the venture since construction began in 2002.

More than 38,000 North Koreans work at 101 South Korean firms and produce items such as garments, kitchenware and watches.

They are paid around 75 dollars a month, including insurance, but the money goes directly to the North's state bodies, which return only a portion to the workers.







A participant attends the 17th Life Ball in Vienna. AFP/Joe Klamar

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