According to Yonhap:
Production at a South Korea-financed factory park in North Korea fell for a second straight month in May, figures showed Tuesday, as manufacturers complained of a decrease in orders amid tension between the divided states.
Production at the joint complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong stood at US$27.79 million in May, a 1.2 percent decrease from a month earlier, according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
The number, however, marked a 56 percent increase from a year earlier, the ministry said, a sign that the complex is expanding on a yearly basis.
Despite the deadly March sinking of a South Korean warship, which was blamed on North Korea and ignited the ensuing tension along the border, the number of North Korean workers in the complex topped 44,000 recently. More than 120 South Korean companies employ the workers to produce labor-intensive goods such as utensils and garments.
The companies have recently called on the Seoul government to ease its restrictions on their operations, including a cap on the number of South Korean workers allowed to travel to Kaesong daily.
South Korea has also banned the companies from new investments in their businesses within the complex, which opened in 2004 and represents the last remaining major symbol of reconciliation between the Koreas.
According to Yonhap:
Output at inter-Korean factory park declines for second month
Yonhap
7/13/2010
