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Buildings at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea are seen in this file photo. The North has indirectly admitted it has been operating some factories there without South Korea's permission. / Yonhap |
Seoul has no way to stop them operating
By Kim Hyo-jin
The government seems to have no particular measures to halt North Korea's unilateral operation of the inter-Korean joint industrial complex in the border city of Gaeseong.
North Korea indirectly acknowledged Friday that it had reopened part of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, claiming it has the right to run the complex in its territory.
The previous Park Geun-hye government closed the joint industrial complex in February 2016 in protest of the North's fourth nuclear test.
"What we do in an industrial complex, where our nation's sovereignty is exercised, is nobody else's business," said a post on the North's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri.
"They will clearly see how our workers are proudly working now unless their eyes are blind."
The announcement came a few days after news reports that North Korea was operating factories owned by South Korean companies without reporting to the Seoul government.
Quoting unnamed sources, U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Oct. 2 that the North had been running 19 clothing factories over six months to produce garments for domestic consumption as well as exports to China.
The source said the clothing factories were using electricity diverted from munitions plants, with the clothing production kept secret with curtains hiding the light.
The unification ministry called for the factories to be closed immediately because operating the complex without the South's approval is clearly illegal.
"North Korea must not infringe on the South Korean companies' property rights within the joint complex," a unification official said.
But besides such condemnation and protest, there is nothing practical the South can do because all communication channels between the two Koreas have been cut.
The ministry had a similar response in August following news reports that North Korea had used vehicles belonging to South Korean companies in the Gaeseong complex.
Following the reports, South Korean companies formerly operating in the industrial park said they would have an emergency meeting on Wednesday.
They responded cautiously to the reports, saying they would wait for the government's official explanation.
Opposition parties demanded the government take swift countermeasures, criticizing it for being idle against the North's illegal conduct.
"The government should come up with stronger measures against the North this time in close cooperation with the international community," the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said in a statement.
The party said the operation of the complex was a violation of the inter-Korean agreement and U.N. Security Council resolutions.
"If the news reports are true, the North's actions must not be overlooked," the minor opposition Bareun Party said in a statement.
"We cannot help but ask what the government is doing. It has only replied it is checking the facts.
"When the Korean Peninsula is at risk due to the North's provocations, the government needs to make utmost efforts to overcome the crisis in every aspect. We urge its swift response."
The Park government closed the complex in February 2016 following the North's fourth nuclear test. In protest, North Korea announced it would freeze all South Korean assets in the complex and that a people's committee would manage them.
The inter-Korean industrial project in Gaeseong, established in 2000 following the inter-Korean summit, used to have 124 South Korean firms operating there. Facilities and equipment belong to the South Korean businesses.
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