Work at the complex stopped in April when the North withdrew its workers amid high political tension. The zone, just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories that employ more than 50,000 North Koreans.
It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang. Operations will “resume on a trial basis from 16 September”, a statement from the Unification Ministry said.
South Korean firms will be exempt from taxes for the rest of the year to offset losses incurred while the complex was closed, it said. The two sides also agreed to measures to make access to the site easier for South Korean businessmen, Yonhap news agency reported.
The Unification Ministry also said that the two Koreas planned to host a roadshow to try and attract foreign investors to the zone in October. Allowing foreign investors into Kaesong is seen by Seoul as a way of ensuring Pyongyang does not unilaterally close the complex again.
Pyongyang’s removal of its workers in April came amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula in the wake of North Korea‘s third nuclear test on 12 February. In recent months, however, tensions have eased somewhat.
The two Koreas have conducted multiple rounds of talks on reopening Kaesong, but were deadlocked for some time on Seoul’s insistence that guarantees were needed to prevent any future suspension of operations.
Owners of South Korean businesses at the zone have been calling for a deal and North Korea said re-opening Kaesong was in both nations‘ interests.
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reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com