Two Koreas discuss globalization of Kaesong complex

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held working-level talks on Thursday to discuss how to speed up globalization of the Kaesong industrial complex, Seoul's Unification Ministry said.

Delegations from both sides held the fourth round of the joint management committee meeting in Kaesong, the DPRK's border city around 10 km north of the military demarcation line separating the two Koreas, according to the Unification Ministry.

The joint committee was set up to regularly discuss how to jointly manage the factory park in Kaesong after the two Koreas agreed to resume operations after a five-month closure. The third meeting was held in late September.

The ministry statement said that the delegations talked about introduction of the radio frequency identification (RFID) system, daily passage of South Korean businessmen to and from Kaesong and adoption of the Internet connectivity, noting that those issues will continue to be discussed through separate subcommittee meetings.

As part of the efforts to globalize the joint industrial zone, the two Koreas recently started building infrastructures to adopt the RFID system in Kaesong. The system, if completed, will make it possible to electronically control daily passage of South Korean workers to and from Kaesong.

The South Korean side offered during the talks to hold a joint investment briefing for potential foreign investors in late January next year. Detailed schedules will be discussed in the future, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, a group of foreigners visited Kaesong Thursday. Around 30 foreigners, including finance officials from Group of 20 (G20) member countries and experts from the Asia Development Bank and the Bank for International Settlement, visited the joint factory park as Pyongyang approved the rare cross-border trip.

The foreign visitors toured two factories and water purification and drainage centers before being briefed by chairman of the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee center.