Korea Times:
9/26/2006
An inter-Korean joint venture firm was launched for the first time in the North Korean border town of Kaesong yesterday, the South Korean investor in the project said.
The “Arirang-Taerim joint venture stone company” was established with half of the investment provided by South Korea’s granite processing firm Taerim industrial and the other half by the North’s Kaeson General Trading, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
A ceremony to mark the completion of the new company’s factory was held with some 300 government officials and businessmen from the two Koreas in attendance.
The factory is located outside of the Kaesong industrial complex where 13 South Korean manufacturers operate under the protection of a special law ensuring their investment.
Since it agreed on the joint venture with the North in April, Taerim has invested some $2.95 million for the construction project.
Taerim said the factory will process granite and marble stones collected from North Korean mountains using cheap labor.
With a floor space of 3,300 square meters, the factory will have the capacity to produce some 80,000 tons of stone products annually, it added.
