South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to fully reopen the Kaesong industrial complex next Monday after agreeing on institutional tools to develop the factory park in a progressive way, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Wednesday.
After marathon talks that lasted for around 20 hours from Tuesday morning, Seoul and Pyongyang announced a joint statement on when to reopen it and how to manage it.
"Institutional tools were actually provided through this second meeting of the joint committee to stably develop the Kaesong complex into an internationally competitive one," the Ministry of Unification said in a statement.
The ministry said the agreement will contribute to trust- building and sustainable progress in inter-Korean relations, noting that the Kaesong industrial zone's constructive development got back into its stride.
Under the agreement, the two sides will reopen the joint factory park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong on Sept. 16 after conducting a trail run. The factory park, which has been suspended for more than five months, will be normalized right before the three-day Chuseok holiday that falls on Sept. 19 this year.
The two sides agreed on how to set up and run the standing secretariat of the joint management committee for the Kaesong industrial zone. The joint committee, which will be in charge of running the factory park, will give Seoul an equal say on the zone, which had been managed solely by Pyongyang in the past.
The secretariat, which will provide administrative support to the joint committee and four subcommittees, starts to be operated within this month.
The two sides also agreed to form a joint arbitration committee that will settle business disputes within the Kaesong industrial zone. The committee, which will be composed of one chairman and four members each from Seoul and Pyongyang, would be set up within three months.
簡明釋義：北京時間9月11日上午消息 BBC報道，据首尒官員透露，朝韓已達成協議，將於下周重啟開城合作工業園區。韓國統一部表示，雙方的談判延續到深夜，最終確定9月16日為重啟日。開城工業園區位於朝尟境內，有123傢韓國人開的工廠，這些工廠僱用了5萬名朝尟人。開城工業園區是平壤重要收入來源之一，作為條件，平壤同意向海外投資者開放開城園區。韓國方面認為，這將有助於阻止朝尟再次關閉該園區。
