The South Korean government today urged North Korea to take responsibility for losses suffered by enterprises operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex as a result of the current three-month old shutdown, and take steps to ensure that similar events do not happen again.
According to a Ministry of Unification official who conveyed news of today’s talks, the head of the South Korean delegation at Panmunjom noted in the South’s opening remarks, “North Korea’s unilateral measure to stop the operation of factories is seriously harming inter-Korean trust by not only violating inter-Korean agreements but even their own Kaesong Industrial District Act.”
“Our side demanded the North Korean side provide an explicit guarantee on recurrence prevention and make a responsible statement on damages to our companies resulting from the North’s unilateral measure,” the official explained.
The South Korean side further asserted that rather than simply normalizing and maintaining the Kaesong Complex in its existing form, both sides should work to develop it in line with international norms.
Meanwhile, the North Korean delegation chief did not speak in the same terms, focusing instead on the need to avoid damage to facilities and equipment in the Kaesong Complex during the current rainy season.
However, North Korea did agree to allow finished products to be exported from Kaesong to South Korea, but rejected the idea of allowing raw materials to leave.
