June 11, 2018 12:13
A South Korean team went on an inspection of the shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea last Friday. The group led by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung checked on power generation, water supply and communications facilities there in anticipation of opening a cross-border liaison office there.
They were greeted by a sorry sight as the basements of the offices and accommodation facilities in the industrial park remained submerged. "Most of the facilities are in need of maintenance, including submerged and malfunctioning equipment, leaky walls and broken glass," a ministry spokesman said.
It was the first visit by South Korean officials in the two years and four months since operations came to a halt.
The cross-border liaison office in Kaesong was one of the matters agreed at the inter-Korean summit on April 27.
But the seniority of the inspection team suggests the ministry also has an eye on reopening the industrial park if relations improve and North Korea agrees to denuclearize.
But a government official denied this, saying, "It would be possible to review the restart of operations at the industrial complex only after sanctions are lifted in accordance with progress in denuclearization."
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