ID :
209227
Sun, 09/25/2011 - 06:53
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/209227
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Seoul considers repairing flood-hit roads leading to Kaesong complex
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government is considering repairing flood-damaged roads linking North Korea's border city of Kaesong to the nearby inter-Korean industrial park, officials said Sunday.
The roads used by commuter buses for nearly 50,000 North Korean workers employed by South Korean firms at the Kaesong Industrial Complex were reportedly damaged in this summer's torrential rains.
"We understand the government is considering improving North Korean roads leading to the Kaesong Industrial Complex," a South Korean official working there said.
The official said that an on-site survey of the roads has already been conducted last summer by the Kaesong Industrial Complex Management Committee, the South's organization overseeing administrative affairs and management of facilities in the complex, and LH Corp., South Korea's state-run land developer participating in the development of the complex.
A source at Seoul's Unification Ministry also confirmed the plan.
"The government is mulling ways to repair roads in the Kaesong region because many of them were damaged in heavy rains this year," a ministry official said requesting not to be named. "We need to consult with the North because the work involves repairing of roads inside Kaesong."
The repair, if conducted, will likely involve works to restore damaged paved sections and fill in holes on unpaved roads with soil, the official said.
The complex, a key symbol of rapprochement between the two Koreas, combines the South's technology and management expertise with the North's cheap labor.
More than 47,000 North Koreans work for about 120 South Korean firms operating in the North Korean border city of Kaesong to produce clothes, utensils, watches and other low-tech goods.
The two divided Koreas have managed to maintain the zone despite a chill in their relations over the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
The repair is anticipated to help save time for the North Korean commuters and reduce traffic accidents with experts saying it may become a foothold to restore frayed inter-Korean ties.
The roads used by commuter buses for nearly 50,000 North Korean workers employed by South Korean firms at the Kaesong Industrial Complex were reportedly damaged in this summer's torrential rains.
"We understand the government is considering improving North Korean roads leading to the Kaesong Industrial Complex," a South Korean official working there said.
The official said that an on-site survey of the roads has already been conducted last summer by the Kaesong Industrial Complex Management Committee, the South's organization overseeing administrative affairs and management of facilities in the complex, and LH Corp., South Korea's state-run land developer participating in the development of the complex.
A source at Seoul's Unification Ministry also confirmed the plan.
"The government is mulling ways to repair roads in the Kaesong region because many of them were damaged in heavy rains this year," a ministry official said requesting not to be named. "We need to consult with the North because the work involves repairing of roads inside Kaesong."
The repair, if conducted, will likely involve works to restore damaged paved sections and fill in holes on unpaved roads with soil, the official said.
The complex, a key symbol of rapprochement between the two Koreas, combines the South's technology and management expertise with the North's cheap labor.
More than 47,000 North Koreans work for about 120 South Korean firms operating in the North Korean border city of Kaesong to produce clothes, utensils, watches and other low-tech goods.
The two divided Koreas have managed to maintain the zone despite a chill in their relations over the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
The repair is anticipated to help save time for the North Korean commuters and reduce traffic accidents with experts saying it may become a foothold to restore frayed inter-Korean ties.
