PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean staff on Thursday (February 11) headed for the Kaesong Industrial Complex to help with a pull-out of workers a day after the government decided to suspend operations at a jointly run factory park just inside North Korea following the North’s long-range rocket launch.
South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said on Wednesday (February 10) North Korea was suspected of spending funds from the complex on advancing its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles programmes.
The withdrawal comes amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula, following the rocket launch and North Korea’s fourth nuclear test last month, which has prompted calls from the United States and South Korea for tougher U.N. sanctions against the isolated country.
South Korean workers complained about the pull out from their factory and other facilities.
“I’m perplexed. I’m not sure if I can bring out products we have made. If the North does not approve it, I’ll not be able to bring them out. This will lead to serious damage,” said 62-year-old South Korean, Park Rae-yul, a plant manager.
“The government will compensate companies a lot, won’t it? But what about (South Korean) workers like us? It is going to be really hard,” said 59-year old Kim Hyeon-yun who has been working at a clothing factory in Kaesong for seven years.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex is just on the North Korean side of the two Koreas’ heavily defended border and is one of the few examples of cooperation between the rivals.
South Korea has 124 companies at the complex, most of them small- and medium-sized firms, employing 54,700 North Korean workers as of August, whose wages are paid to a North Korean state agency.
The complex generated 132 billion won ($110 million) in wages and fees for North Korea last year, Hong said.
In 2013, North Korea shut down the complex for five months during a period of diplomatic tension.
The South Korean government and companies have invested about 1 trillion won in the Kaesong complex including 616 billion won in cash since it opened in 2005, Hong said.
