South, N Korea agree in principle to reopen joint industrial park

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-07-08

Suh Ho, left, head of the South Korean working-level delegation and his North
Korean counterpart Park Chol-su shake hands before their talks at the Thongil
House on the north side of Panmunjom truce village. (Photo/Xinhua)

South and North Korea agreed in principle on Sunday to normalize the joint Kaesong industrial zone after around 16 hours of marathon talks.

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to "reactivate" the industrial zone in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and to hold follow-up talks on July 10 at the Kaesong industrial zone to discuss the way of normalization such as the prevention of recurrence of unilateral shutdown of the industrial park in the future, according to the joint statement posted on the website of South Korean Ministry of Unification.

Both sides also agreed to allow South Korean businessmen to start inspecting their factories at the indurtial park on July 10 and maintain manufaturing facilities to diminish possible damages during the rainy season.

South Korean companies will be allowed to bring back finished products and materials out of the complex.

Pyongyang agreed to guarantee security of personnel and vehicles of these companies to and from Kaesong.

The agreement was reached at 4:05am local time on Sunday after around 16 hours of working-level talks held at the Thongil House on the north side of Panmunjom truce village.

The KIZ, where factories of 123 South Korean companies were stationed, has been suspended for nearly three months after Pyongyang banned about 53,000 of its workers from reporting to work in protest at joint South Korean-US annual military drill amid high tension on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul also withdrew its personnel after North Korea rejected talks.

The two sides sought to hold their first high-level official talks in six years in June, but the scheduled dialogue was canceled due to dispute over the rank of chief negotiators.