Pyongyang's state media admits operation of closed industrial zone

By Lim Chang-won Posted : October 6, 2017, 21:43 Updated : October 6, 2017, 21:43
 

An old picture shows the night view of the Kaesong industrial zone.[Namgung Jin-ung = timeid@ajunews.com]


North Korea's state media made an indirect acknowledgment about the partial resumption of an inter-Korean industrial zone which was shut down last year in retaliation for its ballistic missile and nuclear tests.

Pyongyang seized assets in the complex in the North's border city of Kaesong when Seoul closed it in February last year. There were unconfirmed reports that the cash-strapped country has illegally resumed the operation of apparel factories in the zone.

"No matter what we do in the industrial zone where the sovereignty of our republic is exercised, nobody should care about it," Pyongyang's official website, Uriminzokkiri, said in a commentary. "It will be seen clearly how our workers are working proudly," it said, citing the North's sovereignty over the complex.

The Kaesong complex, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation and reconciliation, was considered a rare legitimate source of hard currency for the impoverished North. In closing the zone, Seoul accused Pyongyang of diverting income earned in the zone to leader's luxury life or weapons development.

"We make it clear once again that factories in the industrial zone factories will be in more active operation" despite tough international sanctions, Uriminzokkiri said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has promised to reopen the Kaesong complex only if North Korea returns to the dialogue table on easing cross-border tensions. The complex once hosted about 120 South Korean firms with Pyongyang making more than $100 million annually in wages earned by 54,000 workers.

 
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