Kaesong industrial complex, a driver of inter-Korean dialogue
Active between 2004 and 2016, the complex was a symbol of successful economic cooperation between the South and the North. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have agreed to reopen it. Washington fears it will undermine sanctions against Pyongyang.
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The reopening of the inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong - on the northern side of the border – could encourage inter-Korean economic cooperation and act as a "driver for dialogue" on the peninsula, this according to the latest report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), a research centre based in Brussels (Belgium).
The think tank has called on the United States to drop the "maximalist" approach of opposing the initiative until the North’s complete denuclearisation, noting that Washington's attitude is "counterproductive" in peace and nuclear talks.
Set up in 2004, the Kaesong industrial complex is the product of the peace mood created by the first inter-Korean summit of 2000 between the then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The initiative was hailed as a successful symbol of economic cooperation, combining South Korean capital and technology with cheap North Korean labour.
By April 2013, 123 South Korean companies employed around 53,000 North Korean workers and 800 South Korean cadres. Some US$ 90 million a year were paid directly to North Korea.
South Korean investments, combined with the salaries of North Korean workers, constituted a solid foreign monetary reserve for the regime worth over US$ 500 million each year.
The ICG report notes that the industrial complex benefited both North Korean and South Korean companies, which could help obtain public support for the reopening.
"Should the complex reopen, it presents a new opportunity for deepening North-South economic cooperation that can help cement ties between the two nations and create a counterweight to future escalatory cycles," the report said.
In February 2016, then South Korean President Park Geun-hye shut down the complex in response to Northern missile launches and the fourth nuclear test.
South Korea’s current administration wants to reopen the industrial park in the hope of boosting inter-Korean relations.
Last September, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to do that. But Washington opposes any inter-Korean economic cooperation, fearing it would undermine global sanctions against Pyongyang.
The US position is influenced by the current deadlock in negotiations on North Korea’s denuclearisation and the easing of economic restrictions.
North Korea and the United States have not held talks since Trump and Kim ended their second summit last February without reaching an agreement.
.png)
