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China-Japan-Koreas | |||
S. Korea: 'no' to Nork demands over Kaesong business park | |||
2009-06-30 | |||
SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will maintain its position that North Korea's "unreasonable" demands over a joint business park cannot be accepted, the unification minister said Monday, as the two sides are set to meet again over the troubled venture this week.
"We will continue to pursue the stable development of the Kaesong industrial park. But we will do so with principles. We have been emphasizing that unreasonable demands cannot be accepted," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said in a briefing for the National Assembly unification, foreign affairs and trade committee. In the first round of talks on June 11, North Korea demanded a four-fold monthly wage increase to US$300 for its workers employed by South Korean firms at the park. It also sought to raise the rent for 50-year development rights to $500 million from the $16 million paid by South Korean developers when the joint park opened in 2004. South Korea rejected the demands in the second round held eight days later. North Korea insisted on its initial offer, but showed some flexibility, proposing to lift a traffic curfew it imposed along the inter-Korean border in December to protest Seoul's conservative policy. Hyun said the two Koreas share an understanding that the last remaining inter-Korean venture should remain intact despite the political stalemate. "We head to the talks with an understanding that North Korea does not intend to quit the Kaesong industrial complex," Hyun said, asked by Rep. Chung Ok-il of the ruling Grand National Party about Pyongyang's stance. "We will try to explain to North Korea sufficiently that the businesses should make profits" if the business park is to continue.
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Posted by:Steve White |
#2 Chosun Ilbo: The basic monthly salary of North Korean workers at the complex is US$63.4, consisting of $55.1 in wages and $8.3 in social insurance. In addition, overtime work pay amounts to between $11 to 18.3 a month, and a welfare package subsidizing lunches, snacks and transport costs is provided at a range of between $36.6 and 47.9 per month. In total, the monthly salary of a North Korean worker ranges from $110 to 130, which, the companies argue, is comparable to that earned by workers in China and Vietnam. A survey of some 40 firms operating at the complex was carried out after the first round of talks on April 25 to discover why these firms were having difficulty accepting North Korea's demands. According to the survey, the productivity of an individual North Korean worker is just 33 percent that of a South Korean worker. In comparison, the productivity of Chinese and Vietnamese workers is 96 and 85 percent that of South Korean workers, respectively. |
Posted by: ed 2009-06-30 08:42 |
#1 The Kaesong workers are only paid $75/month? That's hardly enough to eat bark on after deducting $70/month for the Party. |
Posted by: Glenmore 2009-06-30 07:37 |