Koreas complete first-stage development of Kaesong complex

Yonhap
Tony Chang
10/16/2007

More than 400 government and business officials from South and North Korea gathered Tuesday at an industrial complex in the North to celebrate the completion of the first-phase of development of the landmark reconciliation zone, organizers said.

The industrial park in Kaesong, a border town 60 kilometers northeast of Seoul, has been hailed as a major outcome of the historic 2000 inter-Korean summit and is being built in three stages with completion scheduled for 2012. Over 13,000 North Korean workers now employed in Kaesong earn some US$60.4 each a month working for South Korean firms producing garments, watches, utensils and other labor-intensive goods.

“The Kaesong complex is an achievement that shows that our people can do anything when they pull together,” Kim Jae-hyun, head of the Korea Land Corp. (KLC), said in a congratulatory speech during a ceremony held at the complex, according to the company.

KLC, South Korea’s state-run real-estate company, is responsible for selecting the companies that operate there.

Other dignitaries from Seoul included Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of the Hyundai Group that is involved in various projects in the North. Some 100 North Koreans, of whom none were identified, were present at the ceremony, according to the KLC.

“The significance of the industrial park was highlighted once more during the recent inter-Korean summit, paving the way to further expand development (of the zone),” Lee said in his speech.

The first-phase construction of the park, which began in June 2003, covers 3.3 million square-meters. As of April, some 220 companies have signed up to move into the complex. Currently 57 firms operate in the zone.

Approximately 8.26 million square meters of land have been allotted for the second-stage of development. Construction of the second stage is expected to begin early next year. It is expected to be used for material-oriented and technology industries, such as synthetic fibers and electronics parts, according to the KLC.

In the second inter-Korean summit held early this month, South and North Korea agreed to make Haeju, a militarily sensitive town for North Korea roughly 75 kilometers west of Kaesong, a special economic zone, similar to the Kaesong complex.

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