Two Koreas agree on reopening joint industrial park
17 Aug 2013 5:17 AM IST
North and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to work on reopening a joint industrial zone shut down in April amid soaring military tensions -- and vowed to prevent its closure being repeated. But they failed to set a precise date for the resumption of operations at the shuttered complex in Kaesong, and the South Korean side sounded a note of caution after the deal was announced. ‘This agreement is not an end but only a beginning,’ its chief negotiator Kim Ki-Woong told reporters.
‘What's more important is how both Koreas can implement the agreement ... we can't say for sure when (Kaesong) will actually reopen,’ Kim added. Nevertheless, the agreement marked a tangible breakthrough after six previous rounds of talks had ended in mutual recrimination.
It may also help ease tensions before the launch of joint South Korea-US military exercises on Monday which the North has warned could bring the divided peninsula "to the brink of war". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Wednesday that the agreement to reopen the joint industrial zone was a ‘positive development’.
‘What's more important is how both Koreas can implement the agreement ... we can't say for sure when (Kaesong) will actually reopen,’ Kim added. Nevertheless, the agreement marked a tangible breakthrough after six previous rounds of talks had ended in mutual recrimination.
It may also help ease tensions before the launch of joint South Korea-US military exercises on Monday which the North has warned could bring the divided peninsula "to the brink of war". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Wednesday that the agreement to reopen the joint industrial zone was a ‘positive development’.
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