Two Koreas link phones in northern city

KAESONG ― The two Koreas resumed direct land-line telephone services for the first time in 60 years yesterday, as South Korea’s top telecommunication operator KT Corp. opened a North Korean branch in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The landmark cross-border phone line and facsimile service is connected by an optical cable linking Seoul and Kaesong, which was installed in July. Direct telephone services between the two Koreas (Seoul to Haeju) was disconnected after the Soviet Union and the United States divided the peninsula roughly along the 38th parallel in August 1945, when Japan surrendered, ending the second world war. “Further negotiation with our Northern counterparts will be necessary for the two Koreas to expand cooperation in the overall information and technology sector,” said Chin Dae-je, the minister of Information and Communication at the ceremony held in the North Korean city, about two hours by car from Seoul. “Post mail and Internet services should follow the land-based telephone and facsimile services in the near future,” he added. The direct phone network will reduce phone charges by more than one sixth, to 40 cents per minute. Previously the only communication method available was by satellite, which cost $2.30 a minute. Korean companies operating inside the industrial park are expecting the line to reduce production fees and enhance inter-Korean communication, leading to higher product competitiveness. Currently about 15 Korean companies are doing business in the Kaesong complex, and 20 more firms are slated to move in next year, the government has said. KT’s chief executive, Nam Joong-soo, said in a speech that in tandem with the three-phase development plan for Kaesong Industrial Complex, KT would try to offer additional telephone lines and other telecommuncation services. In addition to the current complex inside the inter-Korean “venture park” in Kaesong, the government plans to build three more complexes there, stretching about 6,610 hectares (16,300 acres) over the next seven years. KT said it would install 10,000 phone cables in the town by the end of next year; at the launching yesterday, only 300 cables had been set. Using the cross-border network, Mr. Chin talked with Park Jeong-su, who commands the guards on the uninhabited islet of Dokdo, Korea’s furthest point east. Mr. Nam called up Jang Hyung-soo, a resident of Baeknyeong island, far out in the Yellow Sea. Mr. Jang, 63, said he left his hometown in the North during the Korean War. “I hope the day will soon arrive for us to talk to the people in other North Korean cities such as Pyongyang and Shineuiju,” he said. Present at the ceremony were 360 visitors from the South including 10 lawmakers, ministry officials and the managers of companies inside the industrial complex. North Korea sent 40 businessmen and government officials to the ceremony. by Seo Ji-eun