North Korean Economy Watch

Daily NK
Kim Song A
4/24/2007

Will keeping the abandonment of Kaesung Industrial Complex in secret resolve anything?

It has been revealed that 4 out of 23 enterprises that were supposed to enter Kaesung Industrial Complex during the first rounds have abandoned their locations. Additionally, 4 other enterprises have placed their reservations on hold.

Since August 2005, there are only 7 companies which have commenced operations on the divided grounds of Kaesung Complex.

Of the remaining 8 enterprises which are undergoing the preparations for new constructions, 1~2 companies are considering renouncing their spots and are requesting that thorough investigations are made on Kaesung which now celebrates it’s 3rd anniversary.

In particular, affiliates of Kaesung have been carefully revealing the government’s recent strong ambition to complete the constructions for a 3,306 square km by the 30th of this month, initially a 1,750 square km, knowing that they could be severely affected.

However, the problem is that whenever these incidents occur, rather than finding ways to solve the issue, the government is wasting its efforts in keeping it a secret.

An employee working on Kaesung’s landscape revealed the following information in an interview with a reporter, “Supplementary areas are being designed. This is not advisable. It would be better to wait until the other constructions are complete.”

Despite contractors having to start construction within 6 months of signing a contract, it has now been 18 months and nothing has been begun, while fees for breach of contract are still being paid. No wonder enterprises have abandoned entering Kaesung Complex.

For the past 2 years, North Korea has had many opportunities to earn foreign currency through South Korean business and Kaesong. But the Korean government remains in futile and bewilderment.

Even today, South and North Korea have not been able to make complete amends regarding Kaesung Complex regarding work conditions, wages, entry and exit permits and inspections. Nonetheless, North Korea continues to make requests and one-sidedly takes action though the agreement has not yet been fulfilled.

The fact that North Korea has begun charging fees for issuing passports to long-term South Korean workers has still not been discussed, greatly caused by the government’s indolent preparatory measures.

Businesses are in a position where they cannot invest in Kaesung as know one knows what requests North Korea will make. Last week, 22 enterprises gathered in appeal against all the mishaps that had occurred and demanded that the government take action.

Above all, enterprises and NGO’s argue that North Korea must change its attitude towards the economic agreement. North Korea’s mentality is limited to “sucking the gains,” which has caused companies to leave the region, despite the advantages and the development potential of the Kaesung.

Furthermore, entrepreneurs argue that no matter how many laws are placed regarding Kaesung, North Korea will never change.

Regarding Kaesung, the South Korean government urges that “This is the future of small-medium sized businesses and the key to connecting the South and North for a peace industry.” Regardless, entrepreneurs contend that they will be unable to make any profits and argue that the “slogan is great but the content empty.”

While disregarding the concerns that “South Korea has been caught by North Korea” and hence is immobilized in the Kaesung’s preliminary measure, the South Korean government has arrived at this point. Though it is hard to make assumptions as Kaesung is still in its early stages.

However, the future of a unified Kaesung complex looks bleak as we are continuously faced with a situation where even work instructions are divided. The government should stop praising Kaesung as “hope” but realize and create another plan for entrepreneurs to be at ease and focus on business.

Korea Herald
4/23/2007

South Korea and the United States have agreed not to apply International Labor Organization regulations to an inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea’s border city of Gaeseong, a South Korean lawmaker claimed yesterday.

Kim Won-woong, head of the National Assembly’s unification, foreign affairs and trade committee, said the Gaeseong industrial park is certain to remain an exception to the ILO’s labor rules, paving the ground for Seoul and Washington to designate Gaeseong as an “outward processing zone” (OPZ) on the Korean peninsula.

Gaeseong, located just north of the inter-Korean border, currently houses 23 manufacturing plants, which combine South Korea’s capital with North Korea’s cheap labor.

Under an FTA deal concluded at the beginning of this month, South Korea and the United States agreed to set up a joint OPZ review committee that will identify areas in North Korea that might be designated as OPZs and consider their qualifications if they meet the necessary criteria, including labor and wage practices. But the labor sector was expected to pose a dilemma as North Korea is not a member of the ILO, which stipulates three basic labor rights, namely the right to unionize, collective bargaining and industrial action.

“South Korea and the United States agreed to consider North Korea’s non-ILO member status and unique labor circumstances in the designation of OPZs in the communist state,” said Kim, citing a document he obtained from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry.

In related news, the two Koreas agreed yesterday at the 13th economic cooperation talks in Pyongyang to continue discussing how to fortify the operations at the industrial complex from next month.

Gaeseong park is considered a signature inter-Korean project symbolizing the efforts of expanding exchanges.

South Korea, under the engagement policy of President Roh Moo-hyun, aims to gradually open up North Korea towards market economy for an eventual reform.

Chosun Ilbo
4/18/2007
 
The inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, now in its second year, is in trouble due to “unreasonable” demands from Pyongyang, South Korean companies there say.

North Korea late last year suggested that South Korea pay North Korean workers according to their academic background. “North Korea demanded that we pay four-year college graduates 30 percent more and two-year college graduates 10 percent more than high school graduates, depending on their type of work,” a businessman said. As of last year, North Korean workers in the industrial complex got an average monthly salary of US$67, including overtime.

But businesspeople in the complex said the demand ignores realities. “Most of the workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex are doing menial jobs, so staff with a higher academic background are not necessarily more productive,” one said. “Moreover, if we should introduce the system, the North Korean authorities would inevitably intervene in the hiring process. Our autonomy in personnel management and governance structure could suffer.”

Some 13,000 North Koreans work at the Kaesong complex. Four-year college graduates and two-year college graduates account for about 10 percent of them. A South Korean government official said, “If we introduce this system, businesspeople say their spending on wages will rise by about 4-10 percent.” Seoul wants to continue negotiations with the North. Pyongyang, which takes most of the workers’ salaries, is already demanding considerable fees for issuing permits to South Korean businesspeople and officials who want to stay for extended periods.

Even if the fee and wage issues are resolved, nobody knows what requests North Korea will make next. Kim Kyu-chul, the chairman of civic group Citizen’s Solidarity for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation, said Tuesday, “We’re not sure if the free trade agreement with the U.S. will recognize products made at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. And the productivity there is not high due to various regulations. If there are wage hikes, South Korean businesses there will suffer.”

Korea Times
Lee Jin-woo
4/17/2007

North Korea has urged South Korean manufacturers at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North to increase wages for some of the workers there, Unification Ministry officials said Tuesday.

The North demanded a 30 percent wage hike for university graduates working at the complex and a 10 percent salary increase for two-year college graduates, the officials said.

They said Pyongyang called for the different salaries to be dependant on a worker’s job and position.

As of Monday, a total of 13,032 North Koreans work at the complex. Some 10.6 percent and 11 percent of them graduated from universities and two-year colleges, respectively.

“Given the number of highly educated North Korean workers, approximately a four percent wage hike is expected this year,’’ an executive of a South Korean company at the Kaesong site said.

“Besides, we still face much difficulty in exporting goods especially to the United States due to the country of origin of the goods being the DPRK,’’ he said. DPRK stands for the North’s official name _ the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Under the regulations on management of the Kaesong complex, which was agreed upon between the two Koreas in 2003, North Korean workers have been paid $57.50, a quite sizable amount by North Korean standards, per month, regardless of their position _ plus overtime pay.

The current regulations allow a five percent wage increase annually, but the North has not officially requested any wage hike until now.

Seoul and Washington have sought ways to pay North Korean workers directly not by paying North Korean authorities, which have a distinctive social and employment system.

Meanwhile, the North has demanded that South Korean visitors or residents at the Kaesong site, just north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), pay registration fees.

The ministry has withheld the exact amount of money that Pyongyang has demanded, only saying there is a gap between the two sides.

But South Korean companies at the site are worried about the increasing financial burden due to such changes.

In the landmark free trade accord struck between the governments of South Korea and the U.S. on April 2, the two sides agreed to deal with the issue of recognizing Kaesong products as South Korean goods as part of OPZ (outward processing zone) talks in the future.

Unlike South Korean officials who have been positive about the future negotiations on the Kaesong goods, U.S. negotiators remain calm over the issue.

Of 39 South Korean companies at the joint complex, 22 have been operating under a pilot project.

Hankyoreh
Lee Yong-in
4/16/2007

The Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex is a gauge of conditions on the Korean peninsula. Operations there were nearly stopped outright in the wake of the North Korean nuclear and missile tests. Yet now, thanks to the February 13 agreement on the North’s denuclearization forged at the six-party talks as well as the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), operations have picked up at the industrial park.

In particular, the FTA negotiations have brought the industrial complex new interest from around the world. The agreement reached opened up the possibility of products manufactured at Gaeseong being exported to the U.S ., albeit only after the North meets certain conditions. Whether or not Gaeseong goes beyond spurring North-South economic cooperation and becomes a pillar for peace in East Asia remains to be seen.

The Hankyoreh went on location from March 27 to 30 to take a closer look.

GAESEONG INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX – March 29, 6:45 a.m. Before the dawn clears, the rush to work begins. At the intersection that divides the factory buildings, three or four buses stop in front of a sign reading “Gaeseong Industrial Zone” and North Korean workers pour out. There are approximately 80-100 workers on each bus. Shown to the press for the first time since operations began two years ago, the scene resembles the crowded morning commute on Seoul subway line No. 2.

The clothes worn by the female workers are similar to those worn by the women in Pyongyang, as witnessed during a visit last October. Some even wear the long coats now fashionable in the South. Yellow, pink and checkered, the clothes they wear are of all colors and patterns. Wearing makeup and linking elbows as they walked, their smiling faces were as graceful as the flowers of fall. The streets and buildings were sparkling, as well. The chromatic coloring of the complex contrasts clearly with that of the achromatic Guro Digital Complex in the early 1990s in Seoul.

There are more than 1,200 North Korean laborers working in the 22 factories that have so far set up shop at Gaeseong during the complex’s preliminary and first stages. Ninety percent of them commute to work by bus. As the start of operations nears at 7:10 a.m., the workers flood the sidewalks and streets before entering their respective factories. Their paces were hurried and nimble.

“Welcome! I’m glad you’re here!” Four South Korean employees greet the North Korean workers at the gate to Shinwon’s factory. Regardless of rain and snow, they have been there to give their morning greetings to the workers. Among them stands director Hwang U-seung, who recalled “I was most happy when the North Korean workers expressed their gratitude to me for greeting them here every morning.”

As the time of dividing among interested companies the remaining 530,000 pyeong site of the first project draws near (one pyeong is 3.3 square meters), the commute to work promises to become only more complicated. The reason is that after the end of the first stage of development – around the first half of next year – some 7,000 to 10,000 North Korean workers will take up work at the site.

Currently, it is logistically impractical to transport over 10,000 workers every morning by the current 49 buses to meet the start of operations, which is between 7:10 and 8:10 a.m. In particular, in order to meet the 7:10 bell, the women workers must wake up between 4:30 and 5 a.m. so as to make breakfast, walk 20 minutes to the city bus stop, and ride the bus for 20-30 minutes to work.

The Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee is rushing to find a solution to the commuting problem. There is a plan to build housing within the complex so that 20,000-40,000 workers can commute by foot. Furthermore, if the two Koreas restore the railway line between Seoul and Pyongyang, a project currently being discussed, there is also talk of adding a special commuter train between the workers’ lodgings and Gaesong on the line. In addition, negotiations are underway with the industries present over purchasing more buses or increasing bicycle use.

March 28, 10:00 a.m. The Gaeseong management committee grew hectic. Word came that former Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-yeong’s entourage would arrive in one to two minutes. This reporter jumped into a car so that he would not disturb Minister Jeong’s visit, and drove over to a factory built by the South Korean shoemaker Racere, where he took turns experiencing the work of a typical Gaeseong laborer.

At the factory, seven North Korean workers, their work clothing on and their sleeves rolled up, were gluing the soles of shoes. This reporter also changed into the work clothes and rolled his sleeves up.

After a glance of encouragement from the North Korean laborers, I started to apply glue to the shoes, as well. I was nervous and embarrassed due to my misapplication of the glue. Smiling, the North Korean forewoman Kim Gyeong-sun (45) said, “It looks easy, but it’s really difficult. That’s why newcomers have to be strictly trained.” Kim then taught me in detail the method of holding the brush, the amount of glue to use, and the way of coating the bottoms of the shoes. As if taking on the role of teacher, an animated expression danced across her face.

But after about 30 minutes, the brushes began to harden. Noticing this, a laborer brought me a new brush. “It is a bad brush that is hindering you work,” the North Korean teased, smiling. Asked whether two of the workers had boyfriends, one worker responded, “you think I’d want to marry so soon?” At this, coworkers Jo Jeong-hui and Kim Eun-gyeong, both 19, grinned widely.

As the atmosphere became lighter, Kim Gyeong-sun began bragging about her children. Her 20-year-old eldest son was in the military, and her second son, 18, was studying hard at a mining college, she reported. Aware that their mother was working at Gaeseong, they expressed their support for her “good work.” Asked whether her salary was sufficient to get by, she responded, “More than the money, I feel pride at the fact that North and South are working together.” A model answer, to be sure.

At 12, the lunch bell rang. As she was leaving, a worker offered to make me into “an honorary worker” there, urging me to come back to visit often.

March 28, noon. I joined for lunch the workers of a factory built by South Korean shoe maker Racere. After finishing the meal, I peeked at the North Korean cafeteria. The North Korean workers seem to bring their own rice to supplement the soup provided. When Gaeseong first opened, the North Korean workers were reluctant to visits by the Southerners in their cafeteria during lunchtime. But as the months passed, the atmosphere changed. Now, the South Koreans who sometimes pay a visit to the North Korean cafeteria are now met with warm greetings by the workers.

March 28, 5:00 p.m. The Shinwon workers head home after a day of work. At one corner of the factory, there is a “general meeting” where production totals are compared with goals. The North Koreans are used to performing such checks two to three times a day. The workers change into their regular clothes and sign out using their personal ID cards. As they scan their cards, a picture of them as well as their personal information flashes on the monitor. Those working into the evening gather for a simple supper of ramen and rice in the cafeteria.

At seven in the evening, twilight comes to Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which glows beneath the stars. Nearly all of the factories keep their lights bright, and the streetlamps gently light up the surroundings. Those working into the night that day numbered over 6,000, just about half of the entire Gaeseong workforce.

Hankyoreh
4/6/2007

At first reclusive, North’s workers are smiling, eating together with Southern counterparts

Two years after the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex began operations, the attitude of North Korean workers toward their South Korean employers has significantly changed for the better, according to heads of South Korean plants located in the joint Korean industrial park.

Ra Sang-jin, 66, the plant chief of Daehwa Fuel Pump, which started operations at Gaeseong in June 2005, said North Korean workers’ attitude toward their South Korean employers has changed. When Ra came to Gaeseong, North Koreans disliked South Korean employees coming to restaurants for the Northern workers, for at Gaeseong, the restaurants are divided along the lines of ’North’ and ’South,’ as the North Korean workers were at first reluctant to dine with Southerners. Currently, however, Ra frequently visits North Korean restaurants and is asked by North Korean workers to join in a a meal.

“It seemed to take seven to eight months to remove the wall,” Ra said. North Korean workers are also adapting to the lifestyle at Gaeseong at a faster pace than before. “Recently, some North Korean workers are smiling after only three or four months,” Ra said.

North Korean workers’ reclusive habits – having not met any South Koreans before – have changed, as well. Hwang U-seung, 46, the plant chief of Shinwon, said, “When I meet a North Korean worker on the street and ask which company she is working for, she answers me. That was impossible in the early days [of the Gaeseong complex],” Hwang said. Baek Yeong-ho, 59, the plant chief of Pyeonghwa Shoes, “In early days, the North Korean workers didn’t go to the bathroom alone,” like some sort of old-fashioned social habit. “But they do now. They also don’t step aside when South Koreans are passing.”

Some Korean cowerkers are picking and choosing from the language of the other country, as the language in the North and South has been rendered different after more than 50 years of separation. For example, some South Korean workers call a toilet ‘wisaengsil,’ the North Korean term, and Some North Korean workers call the toilet ‘hwajangsil,’ the South Korean term.

Meanwhile, at first only North Koreans used their common phrase, “Ileopseupnida,” which to them means “no problem” but has a slightly rude meaning in South Korea, akin to “I don’t care.” Now, Northerners and Southerners alike use the phrase. A South Korean who has been working alongside North Koreans at Gaeseong said that “my family in South Korea sometimes tells me my accent has become a little strange.”

Yonhap
4/6/2007

Labor union members of the two Koreas will get together in the South Korean industrial city of Changwon for Labor Day on May 1, organizers said Friday.

This is the first time that the labor unions of the two Koreas, separated by the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, have organized such a rally in South Korea, although they have held similar events at the North’s scenic Mount Geumgang along the east coast and in Pyongyang.

The agreement on the rally was reached at a meeting of labor union representatives in the North Korean border town of Kaesong Thursday. They agreed to hold the joint May Day festival in Changwon, 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on April 29-May 2.

The festival will feature a friendly soccer match, a tour of historic sites and meetings of labor union leaders.

“It would be the first inter-Korean May Day festival ever to be held in South Korea,” said Kim Myeong-ho, a chief planning official of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the South’s two umbrella labor unions co-hosting the event.

The North Korean co-host is the Pyongyang-based General Federation of Trade Unions.

It is one of the achievements of rapprochement between the divided Koreas following the historic inter-Korean summit of June 2000, in which the leaders of the two Koreas signed an agreement on cross-border peace and reconciliation.

Daily NK
Kim Young Jin
3/23/2007

Many North Koreans are saying that making money is different to the past. With the sudden wave of North Korea’s Jangmadang (integrated markets) spreading throughout the nation and with the whole population diving in trade, competition is soaring high. Individualism has intensified so much that the average person openly remarks that family and friends mean nothing when it comes to money.

In mid-March, Kim Jae Chun (pseudonym, 42) of Musan, North Hamkyung province, went to visit his relatives in Yanji, China. He said, “Nowadays, you cannot make a profit by operating small-trade… Selling goods has become tough as there are so many vendors now, even around the areas of Jangmadang, though their stores may not be legitimate.”

Kim’s wife sells rice nearby the Jangmadang in Musan. Up to a year ago, she would easily sell 10kg of rice. These days, she is lucky to sell even half. Normally, 100won (10% of the rice) remains as profit after selling 1kg of rice (1,000won). Simply put, Kim’s wife income has reduced from 1,000won to 500won.

Kim said, “People who own large-scale businesses sell expensive products targeting the rich or elite officials. Though these goods are different, nowadays, it has become hard to make money with rice, noodles or by selling a couple of clothing items.”

Nonetheless, Kim did agree that some business was better than no business. At the least, trade meant that you would not die of starvation.

He explained, “If you want to earn big cash at Jangmadang, you need to possess goods with greater value. If you want to earn even more money, people say, go to the integrated markets.”

“Lately, as people become experienced in trade, the more they are becoming obnoxious. Maybe it’s because they only think about money, it seems like a battlefield. There are even cases where friends and family become distant or ignored altogether. Why should we help each other out they argue since everyone has it touch,” he said.

When inquired whether or not relatives neglecting each other was an incident which had started during the food crisis, Kim responded, “Back then, it was because people really didn’t have anything. The problem is that today, people are not willing to help, even if they have something to share. People neglecting one another during the times where distributions were terminated is different to people who now only think about money.”

Lim Gil Man (pseudonym, 44) who had traveled with Kim from Chongjin agreed with Kim. He said, “In the past, people acted the way they did because they were starving to death. Today, people either stick by others with power or engage in corruption, with more and more people focused on making money.”

“Despite this, selling itself is not so bad. Compared to the times where we were all poor, at least now since there are some rich people, we can sell goods, and we have come to live more independently.”

As competition increases between North Koreans, it is expected that profits will continue to decline. The general populace of merchants trading in the North Korea-China region suspect that unless North Korean authorities propose reform measures to control the spread of markets, this wave of marketing will produce negative effects, with the possibility of rising antagonism amongst the people.

Daily NK
Kim Min Se
3/19/2007

Today, a rich person in North Korea is someone who can spend roughly US$100~$500 (300,000~1.5mn North Korean won) a month. This amount is so large, that it is a figure unfathomable to the average North Korean.

Nowadays, a small number of lower class North Koreans sell noodles at the markets and earn 1,500~2,000won a day. On average, this equates to 50,000~60,000won a month. Additionally, the living costs of a family of 4 in Pyongyang normally costs about 50,000~100,000won.

While a laborer with a stable job earns about 2,000~3,000won (approx. US$0.66~1) a month, spending more than 100,000won (approx. US$32.2) a month is an extravagant figure. Simply put, it has become difficult to live only on selling noodles.

Anyone who spends more than 100,000won a month is probably eating rice and can afford to eat nutritious vegetables. This is the middle class of North Korea today.

The distinctive nature of this middle class is the disparity of the work as well as their past background being rather simple. This class has naturally appeared simply because of their genuine skills. These people know exactly the flow of the market and know how to make money. The only thing important to them is finding the opportunity to make money. In all, they have come to an understanding that money is needed in order to buy goods and live a life to the envy of others.

This middle class is closely linked to power. If a person only takes pride in the sense that he/she can money, then that person will be hit with a severe fall. It is a characteristic of North Korean society that power is critical in living a life making lots of money without trouble.

With money, these people are earning even more by buying the supervision of low ranking safety and security agents and local administrative officers. Simply put, the small amount of money invested as bribery in securing a good location at the markets is petty compared to the income reaped. In other words, whenever a new market is established at a village, a person can be confident in having the best spot by winning over the person in charge. For example, the bidding for the best spot at the Sunam Market, Chongjin is 900,000~1.5mn won (approx. US$290~$490).

Entrepreneurs may become the rich after regime reform

In 2002, the North Korean government passed the July 1st economic reforms which gave more freedom to marketers with less control by authorities and hence, trade became more active.

The mindset of the middle are so fixated on money, that they believe that money can solve anything even if a war was to break out the following day or North Korea was to be completely overturned. Though these people conspire with those in power in order to make money, they are unconcerned with what happens or rather does not happen to the Kim Jong Il regime.

There is a definitive difference between the middle class who are rubbing hands and the central class just in case the Kim Jong Il regime did collapse, compared to the upper class. The middle class are not from any particular special background, but with the skills and guile of making wealth, they are confident that there will be no problems irrespective of regime change.

People from this class even have the freedom to save and keep some food and daily necessities in preparation of this incident. Furthermore, currency is undoubtedly being saved, this also being foreign currency such as dollars. This, they call emergency relief in preparation for the time the North Korean regime does collapse, as well as a safe deposit to use whenever trade needed.

In addition, with the change of the North Korean regime, this class will be able to celebrate and radically transform from being an entrepreneur to the newly-rich with all the wealth acquired during the Kim Jong Il regime.

Korea Times
Lee Jin-woo
3/19/2007

North Korea has demanded that South Korean visitors or residents at a joint inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong, just north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), pay registration fees, the Ministry of Unification said Monday.

The ministry, however, withheld the exact amount of money that Pyongyang demanded.

“I want you to understand it as a visa fee. It’s natural for one country to ask visitors from another nation to pay a certain amount in registration fees,’’ Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung told reporters.

Another ranking official also declined to reveal the amount of money proposed by the North, only saying there is a certain gap between the two sides.

Under an agreement on the operation of the Kaesong site signed in December 2003, South Korea is supposed to pay fees in accordance with the period of residence.

It defines a short-term stay as within 90 days and a long-term stay as more than 90 days. A South Korean who stays in the complex for over a year is defined as a resident.

South Koreans, however, have not paid any registration fees to the North Korean authorities because there has been no detailed regulation since the agreement was signed.

Currently, about 800 South Korean residents live at the complex, where South Korean businesses use cheap North Korean labor to produce goods. Some 21 South Korean factories employ about 11,160 North Korean workers there.

Meanwhile, Minister Lee marks his 100th day in office today. He took office on Dec. 11 last year despite vehement opposition from the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP).

After more than a seven-month chill, inter-Korean relations have been restored recently with several talks between the two Koreas underway to improve the reconciliatory atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula.

Asked to choose the most satisfying moment he had in the past 100 days, Lee picked the 20th inter-Korean Cabinet meeting held earlier this month in Pyongyang.

During the four-day ministerial talks which ended March 2, the two Koreas agreed on several principles including the resumption of family reunions using video links from March 27 to 29.

In inter-Korean Red Cross talks, the two sides recently agreed to resume construction of the reunion center beginning March 21.