N.Korea Asks China to Hire Kaesong Workers

North Korea has asked China to hire workers who have lost their jobs with the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Friday.

The daily said senior North Korean diplomat Kim Kye-gwan on a visit to Dalian on June 19-20 asked Chinese officials to hire Kaesong workers for the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwa Island economic special zones in the border area. China's response is not known.

In May, the Asahi Shimbun also reported the North asked China to employ workers from the Kaesong industrial park.

"It's a likely story but we haven't confirmed it," a Unification Ministry official said. "Rumor has it that workers from Kaesong have already signed labor contracts with China."

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