Number of North Koreans in the Kaesong Industiral Zone increases

Quoting from the article:

North Korea has increased the number of its nationals working at a Seoul-funded industrial estate in the communist state since tighter border controls were introduced, data showed Sunday.

Statistics from South Korea’s unification ministry show North Korean workers numbered 37,168 in Kaesong, the estate just north of the border, on Friday, up from 36,618 on November 31.

On December 1 North Korea imposed stricter border controls and expelled hundreds of South Koreans from Kaesong amid strained cross-border ties, leading to fears in Seoul that Kaesong will eventually be closed down.

“The latest statistics show North Korea will not shut down Kaesong but thoroughly protect business there,” Kim Yong-Hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Dongguk University, told AFP.

“The North is saying tighter border controls are targeting the Seoul government, not private businesses there, in a dual-track policy on the South.”

Read the full article here:
Number of NKoreans increased at Seoul-funded estate
AFP
12/14/2008

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One Response to “Number of North Koreans in the Kaesong Industiral Zone increases”

  1. Baltimoron says:

    It’s win-win for Pyongyang – more NK workers making money, same amount of tech transfers, less tourists – and I’m sure SK companies will be Pyongyang’s most fervent boosters against the Lee administration’s attempts to link Gaeseong to defense issues.