The number of North Korean citizens working in the Kaesong Industrial Complex has surpassed 50,000 for the first time since the inception of the symbolic inter-Korean manufacturing zone at the end of 2004.
The milestone was achieved on January 26th, when an additional 449 North Korean workers joined the Kaesong workforce and brought the total to 50,315, according to figures released today by Inter-Korean Cooperation District Support.
The latest statistics mean that the number of workers travelling to the complex each day has nearly doubled since the Lee Myung Bak administration came into office in 2008. Furthermore, according to Inter-Korean Cooperation District Support, overcoming the existing shortfall of workers would require the injection of 20,000+ additional workers.
However, most of the available labor from the immediate area surrounding Kaesong has already been swallowed up by the Kaesong Complex, and workers are being bused in from increasingly further afield (Kaepung and Jangpung Counties) as a result.
