A group of South Korean lawmakers crossed the fortified border into North Korea Wednesday to visit a jointly run industrial park that recently re-opened after military tensions caused a five-month closure. The rare cross-border trip by the 21 MPs comes as the two Koreas are struggling to build some momentum behind a series of stop-start confidence-building measures. They visited four of the 100-plus South Korean companies with factories in Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) inside North Korea and was established in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean co-operation.
The lawmakers were joined by officials from the South's Unification Ministry, including Vice Minister Kim Nam-Sik. They did not meet with North Korean officials in Kaesong. At talks with South Korean businessmen, ruling party MP Ahn Hong-Joon said that despite Kaesong's reopening, many companies still have a hard time securing new orders, according to a pool report carried by Yonhap news agency.
"The governments of South and North Korea should work together for the sustained development and stability of the Kaesong industrial complex," he said. Ahn urged the North to accelerate discussion with the South on turning Kaesong into a viable industrial zone. North Korea effectively shut down the complex in April by withdrawing its 53,000-strong workforce during a sharp and extended spike in military tensions that followed the North's third nuclear test in February.