N. Korea lifts ban at factory complex
Work with the South was shut down in April. Talks will resume next week.
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Wednesday it was lifting a ban on operations at a jointly run factory park shuttered since Pyongyang pulled out its 53,000 workers in April amid tensions with South Korea. The rivals agreed to meet next week for talks to restart the complex.
The agreement revives hope for the resumption of production at the Kaesong complex, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation from an earlier period of détente. The park combined South Korean initiative, capital, and technology with cheap North Korean labor. It was also a rare source of hard currency for North Korea, though the economically depressed country chafed at suggestions that it needed the money.
North Korea said it would lift its ban on operations at the complex, including restrictions on the entry of South Korean managers. But the two countries must reach a formal accord on their differences before production can resume.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States remained in close contact with the South Korean government and was closely monitoring the situation. "We certainly support improved inter-Korean relations," she told reporters.
The statement by the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, which is responsible for dealings with Seoul, appeared to accept a demand that South Korean negotiators had made in deadlocked sessions: that the North won't unilaterally close the industrial complex, just north of the heavily armed border, should tensions rise again.
Meanwhile, a U.S. institute tracking North Korea's nuclear-weapons program says recent satellite photos show Pyongyang is doubling the size of its uranium-enrichment plant, jibing with the country's announced plans to expand technology that can be used both to create energy and the core of nuclear weapons.
The imagery comes from two sources, the satellite companies Digital Globe and Astrium Geoinformation Services, and was seen by the Associated Press ahead of publication by the Institute for Science and International Security on Wednesday.