Hopes high among business owners that Gaeseong Industrial Complex may start running again this yeare
- 5 years ago
It was this time 3 years ago that a symbolic inter-Korean economic project, the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, shut down.
For the first two years, it seemed highly unlikely the complex would ever reopen again.
But with positive remarks from the leaders of the two Koreas and the upcoming second North Korea-U.S. summit, there's fresh hope the complex may be able to open again within this year.
Oh Jung-hee tells us more.
In 2004, an ambitious inter-Korean economic project kicked off under the name of Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
Pursuing co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, the project aimed to integrate South Korea's capitals and technology... and North Korea's land and labor.
But after Pyeongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in early 2016, the years-long project came to an indefinite suspension.
Reopening the industrial park seemed impossible, as the regime continued nuclear and missile tests that triggered the international community to impose the strictest-ever sanctions on North Korea.
But the situation on the Korean Peninsula took a turn for the better last year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had three summits with President Moon Jae-in and one with President Donald Trump.
This year, hopes are high among Gaeseong business owners that the joint industrial complex may soon be operational again.
Park Nam-suh is one of them.
After pulling out of the complex in 2016, he's been running a new factory in Gimpo, northwest of Seoul.
With his assets left behind in Gaeseong, it was not easy starting a new factory at a new location.
But Park says, it was inevitable as he couldn't afford losing his clients.
"I'll definitely go back to the complex once it reopens. What's great about the complex is that we can communicate with our workers using the same language as they're North Koreans. They're also very intelligent and skillful. The complex has to reopen. It's the first-ever inter-Korean economic community. It's a process of sharing what we have and achieving unification."
For the last three years, Gaeseong business owners have tried numerous times to visit the complex and check the assets they left behind.
But their attempts all fell through.
Now, they are counting on the momentum to be created by the upcoming second summit between Pyeongyang and Washington.
"When it comes to resuming inter-Korean projects like the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, we're not talking about lifting sanctions. We're talking about allowing exemptions to sanctions, as a corresponding action the U.S. can take in return for the North's denuclearization steps. And this means, we might be able to visit the complex, not just to check our assets, but to restart our factories there. We have high expectations for the summit."
With anticipation mounting by the day, business owners are getting ready to have their factories and machines at Gaeseong running again.
They're also calling for legal and institutional measures to prevent the complex from shutting down again due to polit
For the first two years, it seemed highly unlikely the complex would ever reopen again.
But with positive remarks from the leaders of the two Koreas and the upcoming second North Korea-U.S. summit, there's fresh hope the complex may be able to open again within this year.
Oh Jung-hee tells us more.
In 2004, an ambitious inter-Korean economic project kicked off under the name of Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
Pursuing co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, the project aimed to integrate South Korea's capitals and technology... and North Korea's land and labor.
But after Pyeongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in early 2016, the years-long project came to an indefinite suspension.
Reopening the industrial park seemed impossible, as the regime continued nuclear and missile tests that triggered the international community to impose the strictest-ever sanctions on North Korea.
But the situation on the Korean Peninsula took a turn for the better last year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had three summits with President Moon Jae-in and one with President Donald Trump.
This year, hopes are high among Gaeseong business owners that the joint industrial complex may soon be operational again.
Park Nam-suh is one of them.
After pulling out of the complex in 2016, he's been running a new factory in Gimpo, northwest of Seoul.
With his assets left behind in Gaeseong, it was not easy starting a new factory at a new location.
But Park says, it was inevitable as he couldn't afford losing his clients.
"I'll definitely go back to the complex once it reopens. What's great about the complex is that we can communicate with our workers using the same language as they're North Koreans. They're also very intelligent and skillful. The complex has to reopen. It's the first-ever inter-Korean economic community. It's a process of sharing what we have and achieving unification."
For the last three years, Gaeseong business owners have tried numerous times to visit the complex and check the assets they left behind.
But their attempts all fell through.
Now, they are counting on the momentum to be created by the upcoming second summit between Pyeongyang and Washington.
"When it comes to resuming inter-Korean projects like the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, we're not talking about lifting sanctions. We're talking about allowing exemptions to sanctions, as a corresponding action the U.S. can take in return for the North's denuclearization steps. And this means, we might be able to visit the complex, not just to check our assets, but to restart our factories there. We have high expectations for the summit."
With anticipation mounting by the day, business owners are getting ready to have their factories and machines at Gaeseong running again.
They're also calling for legal and institutional measures to prevent the complex from shutting down again due to polit