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Sat, September 30, 2023 | 14:22
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South, North head for dispute over Gaeseong wages
"남북관계 경색 지속에 반성"…포괄협상 가능성
Posted : 2014-12-07 16:10
Updated : 2014-12-07 18:34
Jun Ji-hye
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By Jun Ji-hye

The two Koreas are heading for a conflict over wages at their joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Gaeseong. This follows an announcement that the North has unilaterally removed the legal limit for wages there.

Uriminzokkiri, the North's major propaganda site, said on Saturday that Pyongyang had scrapped the upper ceiling on wages for workers at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

Seoul called the move a unilateral act that ignored a requirement for consultation.

The labor law, enacted in 2003, stipulates that North Korean workers at the complex be paid at least $50 a month, and that the annual increase should not exceed 5 percent.

The two Koreas have together agreed that the minimum wage should be set through negotiations. The figure is now $70.35, having been raised by 5 percent every year since 2007.

But the propaganda site said that under the revised law, the increases would be set every year without any limit.

If the revision is implemented, the North is expected to demand big increases in future negotiations, which the government believes will burden South Korean companies there.

Officials also said scrapping the upper ceiling for wages would make it harder for foreign companies to set up operations in the inter-Korean complex, thus dampening the government's efforts to globalize it.

The Seoul government said it had yet to confirm officially that the North had revised the wages agreement.

"There has been no official notice from the North," said a Ministry of Unification official. "Revision of the labor regulation including the wage rule needs agreement between the two Koreas. Pyongyang has taken unilateral action without agreement from Seoul."

The government is expected to express its official position and to protest against the North's move today.

About 50,000 North Koreans work at the industrial site. The economic zone is seen as the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, and is a major revenue source for the cash-strapped communist country.

Uriminzokkiri said the North had revised 10 clauses of the labor law, including one regarding minimum wages. What else it revised is unclear.

"The revision is to adapt to existing reality, and improve the quality of the workforce and international competitiveness," the site said.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye



"남북관계 경색 지속에 반성"…포괄협상 가능성

정부가 박근혜 정부 들어서도 남북관계 경색이 계속되고 있는 상황을 반전시키기 위한 적극적인 의지를 내비쳐 주목된다.

정부 고위 당국자는 지난 5일 제주에서 가진 간담회에서 박근혜 정부 대북정책인 한반도 신뢰프로세스를 추진하면서 남북관계 현실에 맞지 않는 점은 없었는지 냉철하게 평가해 볼 필요가 있다면서 수차례 '반성'이라는 표현을 사용했다.

그는 이산가족 문제 해결 등의 시급함을 들며 남북관계 개선 의지도 드러냈다.

◇ '현실 타파 못하면 좋은 정책 아냐'

고위 당국자는 박근혜 정부 출범 후에도 전반적으로 남북관계가 풀리지 않고 있는 것과 관련, '경색이 장기간 지속되는 것은 그 이유가 어디에 있든 반성해야 한다'면서 '(남측도 대북정책의) 원칙을 견지하면서 유연성을 발휘하는 데서는 좀 반성의 측면이 있다'고 밝혔다.

구체적으로 그는 '개성공단 재정상화 이후에 이에 힘입어 남북관계를 한 단계 더 도약시키는 노력이 미흡했다고 생각한다'고 말했다.

그러면서 '남북관계가 오랫동안 경색되는 것은 국민 생활이나 국가 안보에 바람직하지 않다'고 평가한 뒤 '아무리 좋은 정책도 현실 문제를 타파하지 못하면 좋은 정책이 아니다'고 지적했다.

이런 발언을 두고 향후 정부가 남북관계 개선에 좀 더 유연하고 적극적으로 나서겠다는 의지를 드러낸 것 아니냐는 관측도 나오고 있다.

◇ '5·24조치' 해법 고민 속 관계개선 방향 주목

우리 정부 내에서도 박근혜 정부 출범 3년째가 되는 내년에는 남북관계 개선의 돌파구를 마련해야 한다는 의견이 적지 않은 것으로 전해졌다.

특히 정부가 5·24 대북조치의 예외로 규정한 나진-하산 프로젝트가 내년 본격적으로 추진되면 5·24조치 해제 압박도 한층 커질 것으로 예상된다. 다른 남북경협 사업자들이 형평성을 문제 삼을 가능성도 있다.

정부도 이런 점을 감안해 이산가족 문제, 5·24조치 해제 등 남북관계의 현안들을 북측과 포괄적으로 협의하는 방안을 검토하는 것으로 알려졌다.

'이산가족 문제를 해결을 위해 다른 부분에서 북한에 줄 수 있는 것이 있다면 적극 고려해야 한다'는 당국자의 언급도 이런 분위기와 기류를 같이하는 것으로 보인다.

북한이 2차 고위급 접촉을 무산시키며 거론한 대북전단 문제도 당분간 부각되지 않을 가능성이 크다. 대북전단 살포가 겨울로 접어들면서 바람의 방향이 맞지 않아 사실상 중단된 상태이기 때문이다.

물론 천안함에 대한 북한의 책임 있는 조치는 남북관계 개선에 앞서 반드시 짚고 넘어가야 할 문제라는 정부의 입장에는 변함이 없다.

따라서 남북관계 개선을 위해선 천안함 사과와 5·24조치, 이산가족 문제, 금강산 관광 등 남북 현안이 모두 의제에 포함된 일괄타결 방식의 협상이 추진돼야 한다는 지적도 일각에선 나오고 있다.
Emailjjh@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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