Set for August 14 "the definitive meeting" to decide the fate of the joint complex, where 123 Southern factories employ about 50 thousand Northern workers.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - After about 2 weeks of stalemate, the governments of the two Koreas have agreed to restart talks on the reopening of the inter-Korean industrial complex of Kaesong. Seoul yesterday demanded "a definitive response," to which Pyongyang proposed a meeting for August 14.

The complex, which is located near the Demilitarized Zone, houses 123 South Korean factories, which employ about 50 thousand workers from the North. It is an important source of income for the devastated economy of the Kim regime, bent by bankrupt financial policies and sprialing military expenditure.

The closure of the inter-Korean industrial complex was decided unilaterally by Pyongyang in early April, the last act in a series of provocations and war propaganda that once again brought the peninsula to the brink of open conflict. Since mid-July the two governments have been trying to find "common ground" to authorize the reopening, but without reaching an agreement.

Yesterday, the Commission for the peaceful reunification of Korea - a Pyongyang government department - issued a statement: "The North side will lift the step for temporarily suspending operations... [and] allow the entry of South Korean businesses. The North and the South will prevent the recurrence of the suspension of operation in the KIZ [Kaesong Industrial Zone] and ensure normal operation in the KIZ without being affected by any situation in any case. "

The Catholic Church in South Korea has repeatedly called for the reopening of the complex, defined by the Archbishop of Seoul "a symbol of peace and hope" for the future reunification of the country.

 

• KOREA
• Seoul
• Pyongyang
• Kaesong
• industrial
• complex
• negitiations
• peace