More than 800 South Koreans were due to cross to the jointly run centre for what is being called a trial restart. 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. However, the North withdrew all of its workers in April, as ties between the two Koreas deteriorated in the wake of Pyongyang‘s 12 February nuclear test. Reopening the complex has taken months of negotiation.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said a total of 820 managers and workers planned to cross into the complex on Monday, with 400 to stay there overnight. They will be inspecting production facilities to assess how quickly a full restart can be implemented after five months of inactivity.
The restart is being described as a trial but more than half of the South Korean companies had asked North Korean employees to report for work, the ministry said.
The two Koreas have also recently agreed to hold the first reunion of families separated by the division of the peninsula after the 1950-53 Korean War later this month. It will be the first such reunion in 10 years.
아주경제 앤드류 이 기자=
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com