Reopening Kaesong Complex to produce masks unlikely at this point: unification ministry
Kaesong Industrial Complex. Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki
The unification ministry on Wednesday brushed aside calls to reopen a shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea for anti-coronavirus mask production, citing challenges such as the need for workers from the two sides to stay in close contact.
A growing number of people are asking for operations to resume at the factory park in the North's border city of Kaesong, as the South has been struggling to address mask shortages in the wake of the massive outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
"The government is maintaining its position that the Kaesong complex must reopen. However, there are realistic challenges we need to review in order to restart the complex," Yoh Sang-key, the unification ministry's spokesperson, said in a press briefing.
"First, it is a burden to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex now at a time when the two Koreas are taking preventive measures, as workers from the North and South will have to meet and stay in close contact with one another," he said.
Yoh also cited other possible problems, including the time necessary to check factory facilities before they restart work and the issue of bringing filters or fabrics into the complex at a time when they are in short supply in South Korea.
South Korea has stepped up efforts to expand the local production of protective masks from the current 10 million to 14 million units daily. It also placed an export ban on masks.
Launched in 2004, the Kaesong Industrial Complex was born on the back of a peace mood created after the first-ever inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000.
It was hailed as a symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation and a successful cross-border project that combined South Korean capital and technology with cheap labor from North Korea.
In 2016, Seoul closed the Kaesong Industrial Complex in retaliation for the North's fourth nuclear test. Efforts to resume operations there have made little progress amid a protracted stalemate in denuclearization talks. (Yonhap)
相关推荐
-
I went to an offline dating event for singles. Here's how it went.
-
汕尾红灯笼荔枝亮相深圳!6月22日,这场推介会约定你
-
A woman confronted Sean Spicer at an Apple Store and livestreamed the whole thing
-
Rubella eradicated in N. Korea with mass vaccinations: WHO
-
Carbon neutrality law violates basic rights: Constitutional Court
-
Donald Trump's tweet about Snoop Dogg may be his weirdest 140 characters so far
- 最近发表
-
- PCB official under probe for conflict of interest
- Snap's plan to fight Facebook is bold
- Shelved 'black
- Coronavirus infects bear cam rangers in remote Alaska national park
- 21 Lost and Lonely Cemeteries
- Only those with dirty minds will appreciate this Ed Sheeran hashtag
- A beginner's guide to the best porn games: What to play and what you should know
- WhatsApp adds new group messaging privacy settings
- 夏凤俭与四川建安工业有限责任公司董事长耿海波座谈
- These bleak WFH playsets for toddlers are unfortunately very real
- 随机阅读
-
- Korea's economy to stop growing without drastic labor change: FKI
- 市电教学会第十一届年会召开
- World’s first ‘meltdown
- A woman confronted Sean Spicer at an Apple Store and livestreamed the whole thing
- 一针一线串起两代人的传承故事
- Blizzard of 2017: What does bombogenesis mean?
- Tesla's Sentry Mode helps police find burglar
- CCTV cameras to take up monitoring at military units
- 实干担当抓落实 多措并举促发展
- Only those with dirty minds will appreciate this Ed Sheeran hashtag
- Man City face uncertain future after charges
- US, Chinese diplomats hold video talks on N. Korea
- Newborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: data
- NK leader vows to build 'forward
- 保障身心健康 培养良好品行
- 芦山县法院快速调解因离婚引发的两起案件
- Number of COVID
- NK blames Israel over Gaza hospital blast
- Haunted TikTok is the next evolution of internet horror
- 汕尾红灯笼荔枝亮相深圳!6月22日,这场推介会约定你
- 搜索
-
- 友情链接
-