Frayed inter
时间:2024-09-21 22:58:46 来源:玉林新闻
South Korean national flags are placed near the gravestones of soldiers who died during the 1950-1953 Korean War at the National Cemetery in Seoul, Thursday, June 25, 2020. AP |
When Shin Han-yong crossed the inter-Korean border into the North Korean city of Kaesong in 2018, he thought the opening of an inter-Korean liaison office could eventually lead to the resumption of a joint factory park.
The liaison office in the western border city was a follow-up on an agreement that South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached in their second summit in April 2018.
"I thought that the office could improve inter-Korean relations, and the joint factory park in Kaesong could resume in the not-too-distant future," Shin said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency at an office in Seoul about his trip to Kaesong. He was a handful of businessmen invited to the opening ceremony of the liaison office.
But the euphoria is long gone.
North Korea blew up the liaison office last month amid heightened tensions with South Korea over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent via balloons by North Korean defectors in Seoul.
The joint economic enclave ― opened in 2004 ― had been hailed as a symbol of economic cooperation between the rival Koreas.
It combined South Korean capital and technology with cheap North Korean labor to produce clothes, shoes, watches, auto parts and other labor-intensive goods. About 55,000 North Koreans were employed there by 125 South Korean firms.
Cumulative production of the factory park came to US$3.23 billion at the end of 2015.
In 2016, South Korea shuttered the factory park ― the last remaining economic cooperation project with North Korea ― to punish Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in 2016.
The factory park had also served as a major legitimate revenue source for cash-strapped North Korea.
South Korean firms have so far paid US$550 million to North Korea for North Korean workers' wages, according to the unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
Now, the fate of the factory park hangs in the balance amid fresh tensions between the two Koreas, and U.N. sanctions that ban, among other things, transfers of bulk cash to Pyongyang.
"The footage of the destruction of the liaison office was devastating," Shin said.
Shin had invested 3 billion won (US$2.5 million) in a factory in Kaesong that produced fishing nets. Annual sales at his factory reached 15 billion won in its heyday.
For Shin, Kaesong was a perfect destination for investment due to its cheap labor, good logistics and no language barriers.
Shin set up a plant in South Korea following the shutdown of the factory park in Kaesong, but his business conditions have worsened.
Several companies moved to foreign countries to seek new business opportunities, but they ended in failure, according to Shin.
The South Korean firms that operated in the inter-Korean industrial complex claim that the shutdown has caused about 1.5 trillion won in losses, but the South Korean government estimated their losses to be 786 billion won.
Shin is still holding out hope that the two Koreas can put aside differences and reach a deal to resume the factory park.
Shin's view is shared by Kim Ki-chang, who had invested nearly $3 million in Kaesong to produce leather steering wheel cover products for Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest carmaker.
Kim also almost built a shop near the customs, immigration and quarantine office in the western South Korean border city of Paju to sell goods for businessmen who travel to and from Kaesong.
The shop ― Kim's joint venture with North Korea ― has since been in limbo amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim's fortunes went down with the closure of the factory park, though he later set up a factory in South Korea.
The 71-year-old went to a bank to demand a rollover of his loan worth 2 billion won, one day after North Korea destroyed the liaison office in Kaesong. The case illustrated the troubles facing the South Korean businessmen who invested in Kaesong.
"My last hope is to go back to Kaesong," Kim said in a recent interview at his office in Seoul against the backdrop of a framed photo of a historic handshake between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the late father of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
As things stand, the resumption of the factory park is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Lee Seong-hyon, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, an independent think tank, said North Korea's recent move to de-escalate tensions with South Korea should not be taken as a reason for optimism, noting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suspended military action against South Korea, not "terminated" it.
"North Korea's provocations are now a matter of time," Lee said. "At any rate, there is no ground to place optimism on Kaesong. Doing so would be irresponsible." (Yonhap)
-
Table tennis star Shin Yu规定时间 划定区域 亮证经营Dog trainers learned to love Zoom sessions. You should too.The best climate change documentaries you need to watch13 Places to Find Little Legends and Compact Cryptids撬动2.4亿贷款资金 缓解融资难题奔康路上不停歇 自立自强谋发展居住环境变好了 居民心情更舒畅共同推动雅安职工思想政治引领数智化发展工作做深做实Pets have no idea it's daylight savings time, and it's going to be a rough week
相关内容
- ·采购商+48,英德红茶在泉城济南蹭蹭涨粉
- ·Almost 50% of single Koreans in 30s, 40s live with parents: study
- ·Wordle today: Here's the August 12 Wordle answer and hints
- ·Documentary on North Korea's TB to be aired Monday
- ·Google Search tries new tactics for limiting explicit deepfakes
- ·规定时间 划定区域 亮证经营
- ·Sustainable solar cell leans on copper to claim world
- ·Facebook Messenger is testing default end
- ·护航孩子成长 解决职工后顾之忧
- ·Kazakh Tourism hosts roadshow in Seoul
- ·Charging tweak revives lost lithium to boost battery capacity & lifespan
- ·居住环境变好了 居民心情更舒畅
- ·特写|在农事定向大赛遇见和美乡村
- ·University of Alabama rush week begins on TikTok
- ·Nadal stunned by Paul in Paris
- ·以艺术与文创的力量,推动紫金蝉茶高品质发展
最新内容
- ·LG Display starts production of advanced OLED displays for gaming
- ·Moon, Kim to meet Sept. 18
- ·Tropicana toothpaste review: Finally, you can drink orange juice after brushing your teeth
- ·小耳畸形困扰家长 矫正重塑带来希望
- ·9 Festive Holiday Treats and Where to Find Them
- ·Leaning an “oligarch” sign against Bloomberg headquarters doesn’t count as vandalism, Ohio cops say.
- ·Rodong slams US for hindering Koreas' ties ahead of inter
- ·Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak dies at 91.
- ·水产品占“四席”!广州南沙十个农产品上榜“国字号”
- ·Rodong slams US for hindering Koreas' ties ahead of inter
推荐内容
热点内容
- ·Our galaxy might crash into Andromeda. What would happen to Earth?
- ·Wordle today: Here's the August 8 Wordle answer and hints
- ·Pets have no idea it's daylight savings time, and it's going to be a rough week
- ·石棉县:紧盯“三个风险点”打赢脱贫攻坚战
- ·古物:回望时间的印记
- ·France to cast aside doubts going into World Cup
- ·Elon Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of Tesla shares
- ·Almost 50% of single Koreans in 30s, 40s live with parents: study
- ·“精致小春姐”顾春芳:华丽白西装、镶钻水晶拖鞋,带来新兴凉果No.1
- ·Deaths from excessive alcohol use surged during pandemic in Korea