South and North sit down to discuss Kaesong conditions

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South and North sit down to discuss Kaesong conditions

The two Koreas yesterday resumed discussion on improving the infrastructure and customs regulations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex to attract international investors, which have been halted for about two months due to frosty inter-Korean relations.

Negotiators from both sides met yesterday at the complex, located in the city of Kaesong, North Korean territory.

They were members of a so-called subcommittee for the Kaesong Industrial Complex’s “advanced development,” launched after the two sides decided to resume the operation at the factory park in September.

They discussed ways to improve the telecommunication infrastructure, such as allowing the use of mobile phones in the complex and adopting an electric entrance system to make it easier for workers and cargo to freely enter the factory zone without prior notice to North Korean authorities.

Launching facilities for the use of the Internet was also discussed as a crucial issue.

Seoul says it wants to “internationalize” Kaesong, largely to prevent Pyongyang from shutting it down whenever it’s angry with Seoul. But foreign investors who have expressed interest in the complex say they can’t imagine working without the use of the Internet or mobile phones, as is now the case in Kaesong.

North Korea unilaterally cancelled the discussions on Sept. 25, following a botched plan for holding reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Reuters
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