By As I predicted, I figured the North Korean talk of shutting down the Kaesong Industrial Complex was all bluster:
North Korea has barred South Korean companies from removing machinery and equipment from the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in an apparent move to keep the project alive, a Unification Ministry official said yesterday.
An official of the North’s Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau informed a South Korean official of the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee on Sunday of Pyongyang’s position, the ministry said. The bureau is in charge of managing the industrial complex near the inter-Korean border.
“We will continue efforts to develop the Kaesong Industrial Complex,” the North Korean official was quoted as saying by the ministry. “In principle, we will not allow machinery and equipment that are registered as corporate properties outside the complex.”
The joint industrial complex, a product of the inter-Korean summit held in 2000, is the last remaining point of economic cooperation between the two Koreas. About 110 South Korean companies employ 42,000 North Korean workers at factories in Kaesong, but the project was at the brink of a shutdown after Seoul decided to minimize the number of South Koreans staying there amid escalated tensions on the peninsula in the aftermath of the Cheonan’s sinking.
According to the Unification Ministry, the North Korean official complained about Seoul’s recent measures. Calling the moves preparations to shut down the complex, the North Korean official said the South will be held accountable if that happens.
The North also demanded that South Korean firms pay all overdue payments including wages, before taking any machinery out of the factories, the ministry said.
Machinery that requires repairs in the South will be allowed to leave the complex as long as the North confirms their malfunctions, and on the condition that they be returned to the factories after being fixed, the North demanded, according to the ministry.
No North Korean workers should be put on leave because South Korean companies pull machinery and raw materials from Kaesong, the North also said.
The detailed demands hint at the communist regime’s intention to keep the project alive. It also clearly contradicts North Korea’s May 27 warning that it would consider banning all South Koreans and their vehicles from entering the complex. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The complex is too much of a cash cow for the North Korean regime plus it continues to give them the option to take South Korean hostages if necessary as they have already attempted a trial run of.
8:13 pm on June 1st, 2010 1
My guess is they will confiscate the equipment and then lease it back at an inflated price if and when the complex reopens…That or they want to attract Chinese investors to the complex and know they'd get more offers if the space comes "furnished".
9:35 pm on June 1st, 2010 2
This WSJ editorial is the worst piece of thinking since the Axis of Evil. We can quibble about China, and we can quibble about Israel. But, drawing a line from one issue to another so feebly us an insult to anyone who deals with both. The fact is, as Marty Peretz argues,in the UNSC China did do the same as it did with the DPRK, the measured muddle.
http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-spine/75249/the-great…
9:55 pm on June 1st, 2010 3
"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
10:34 pm on June 1st, 2010 4
12:09 am on June 2nd, 2010 5
Please explain why it is a bad article. If a ship non-complies with a NK order to got to a port even in International waters does anyone give a damn? No, hence the Pueblo. And they killed more than nine who at the time were not resisting other than to flee.
You showed some lucidity recently that was profound and most unexpected. Where did it go? This debate is applicable since opponents of the west as stated by themselves pile on to any anti-western message or debate.
There is no quibble calling China to account for attacking the US on X project while giving a generous bye to themselves. We certainly don't give ourselves a break on anything.
I agree with you on one point. China did do the same thing in two instances. They did not look at any evidence for a second and applied their judgment. NK didn't do it, your evidence is too low even if we don't look at it! Israel is guilty even if we don't review the tapes or talk to a single commando!
2:35 am on June 2nd, 2010 6
The Pueblo was a military spy ship that violated Korean national waters. Comparing that ship to a peaceful aid convoy in international waters is ridiculous. Of course, Israel attacked an American spy ship in international waters before… You have very good allies
11:38 am on June 2nd, 2010 7
Leave the equipment, no more spare parts and end pay for employees that are now out of a job. Let the North Koreans deal with the restarting of kaesong, along with the management and maintenance of the equipment.
I give it about two weeks before the entire complex collapses. So be it. Whats the price for 46 murdered South Korean sailors?
1:17 pm on June 2nd, 2010 8
Gerry
You tacked the main point in all this,..
"Whats IS the price for 46 murdered South Korean sailors?"
3:16 pm on June 2nd, 2010 9
who has played modern warfare
3:28 am on June 3rd, 2010 10
OK, maybe it would be better to say "disputed waters." Anyway, the North says they were in Northern waters and America now says that they were only VERY CLOSE to Northern waters. Anyway, the Pueblo was a military ship from a country whose bombers killed an estimated 2 million people in the B29 raids on Korean cities. There is no similarity between attacking a military spy-ship from a country that killed 2 million of your people and attacking aid workers carrying food and medical supplies.
5:53 am on June 3rd, 2010 11
REI…”The Pueblo was a military spy ship that violated Korean national waters.” Source please…They claim they were in International Waters as does the Navy and the U.S Goverment. Show me different…
7:21 am on June 3rd, 2010 12
I’m pretty sure Rei is KJI, no logic, all attack and pretty dim.
10:02 pm on June 3rd, 2010 13
You know, Rei – every time I see some drivel like this, here is the reply you'll get: If things are so much better up north in the land of milk and honey, then why don't you pack yourself up and move there. Oh – and don't forget to call ahead and reserve a few spaces for your family at the local gulag…