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| Signaling Thaw, North Korea Opens Plant Run by South | Signaling Thaw, North Korea Opens Plant Run by South |
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| HONG KONG — North Korea said Wednesday that it would reopen the shuttered Kaesong industrial complex, a rare symbol of cooperation with South Korea whose operations were shut down by the North four months ago amid mounting tensions between the sworn enemies. | HONG KONG — North Korea said Wednesday that it would reopen the shuttered Kaesong industrial complex, a rare symbol of cooperation with South Korea whose operations were shut down by the North four months ago amid mounting tensions between the sworn enemies. |
| The North Korean government also proposed new talks with the South, to start next week, on the future of the complex, whose 53,000 North Korean workers were employed by South Korean firms. Pyongyang also pledged to guarantee the safety of South Korean managers who run the complex. | The North Korean government also proposed new talks with the South, to start next week, on the future of the complex, whose 53,000 North Korean workers were employed by South Korean firms. Pyongyang also pledged to guarantee the safety of South Korean managers who run the complex. |
| The announcement, released in a statement carried by the KCNA news agency in North Korea, signaled a thaw in relations between the two countries, which hit a low point over the winter when North Korea’s detonation of a nuclear device prompted tough new sanctions by the United Nations against Pyongyang. | The announcement, released in a statement carried by the KCNA news agency in North Korea, signaled a thaw in relations between the two countries, which hit a low point over the winter when North Korea’s detonation of a nuclear device prompted tough new sanctions by the United Nations against Pyongyang. |
| Since that nuclear test, North Korea’s main ally and benefactor, China, has put increasing pressure on Pyongyang to modify its behavior and return to talks about the future of its nuclear program. In addition to the costly U.N. sanctions, the North has also lost badly needed hard currency earned by the tens of thousands of North Korean workers at the Kaesong complex. | Since that nuclear test, North Korea’s main ally and benefactor, China, has put increasing pressure on Pyongyang to modify its behavior and return to talks about the future of its nuclear program. In addition to the costly U.N. sanctions, the North has also lost badly needed hard currency earned by the tens of thousands of North Korean workers at the Kaesong complex. |
| The South’s Unification Ministry agreed to the North’s request for talks, The Associated Press reported. | |
| The complex, where companies manufactured consumer goods using capital and technology provided by the South and a work force mainly from the North, has been closed since April 8. The two countries held talks last month in an effort to reopen the plant. A major issue in the talks had been the South’s demand that the North take responsibility for the damage caused by the abrupt shutdown of the complex’s factories. The North blamed the shutdown on the South, saying that the South’s confrontational attitude has kept the complex from reopening. | The complex, where companies manufactured consumer goods using capital and technology provided by the South and a work force mainly from the North, has been closed since April 8. The two countries held talks last month in an effort to reopen the plant. A major issue in the talks had been the South’s demand that the North take responsibility for the damage caused by the abrupt shutdown of the complex’s factories. The North blamed the shutdown on the South, saying that the South’s confrontational attitude has kept the complex from reopening. |
| In withdrawing its workers from the complex in April, North Korea blamed tensions it said were caused by joint American-South Korean military exercises. The South later withdrew its own citizens, most of them factory managers, when the stalemate continued. | In withdrawing its workers from the complex in April, North Korea blamed tensions it said were caused by joint American-South Korean military exercises. The South later withdrew its own citizens, most of them factory managers, when the stalemate continued. |
| North Korea’s announcement of the reopening of Kaesong came shortly after the South said it has authorized the payment of $251 million to the South Korean companies whose operations at Kaesong were disrupted by the shutdown. The payouts, in the form of insurance payments, will go not only to companies operating in the complex but also to firms that provided services to them and were hurt by the closure. | North Korea’s announcement of the reopening of Kaesong came shortly after the South said it has authorized the payment of $251 million to the South Korean companies whose operations at Kaesong were disrupted by the shutdown. The payouts, in the form of insurance payments, will go not only to companies operating in the complex but also to firms that provided services to them and were hurt by the closure. |
| The payments may have helped ease the concerns of South Korean businesses who worry about the long-term viability of the complex given the North’s provocative and unpredictable behavior under its new leader, Kim Jong-un, whose government issued threats to use its nuclear weapons against the United States at the height of the tensions. In recent months, however, the North has adopted a more conciliatory tone, with its high-level officials meeting with Chinese leaders, who have then publicly urged the North to curtail its nuclear program. | The payments may have helped ease the concerns of South Korean businesses who worry about the long-term viability of the complex given the North’s provocative and unpredictable behavior under its new leader, Kim Jong-un, whose government issued threats to use its nuclear weapons against the United States at the height of the tensions. In recent months, however, the North has adopted a more conciliatory tone, with its high-level officials meeting with Chinese leaders, who have then publicly urged the North to curtail its nuclear program. |
| In its statement about the reopening of the complex, North Korea described its overture in typically florid fashion as “bold and magnanimous,” adding that the move was “prompted by its desire to bring about a new phase of reconciliation, cooperation, peace, reunification and prosperity by normalizing operation in the Kaesong zone.” | In its statement about the reopening of the complex, North Korea described its overture in typically florid fashion as “bold and magnanimous,” adding that the move was “prompted by its desire to bring about a new phase of reconciliation, cooperation, peace, reunification and prosperity by normalizing operation in the Kaesong zone.” |
| The Kaesong complex was the last of a group of cross-border projects set up during an earlier period of rapprochement, which were then closed one by one as relations soured. It opened in 2004 and produced $470 million worth of goods last year. | The Kaesong complex was the last of a group of cross-border projects set up during an earlier period of rapprochement, which were then closed one by one as relations soured. It opened in 2004 and produced $470 million worth of goods last year. |