South Korea to mull resumption of inter-Korean factory park

Seoul, Aug 25 : South Korea will mull the resumption of the inter-Korean factory park if rgw dialogue atmosphere ripens, the country's top policymaker in charge of affairs on North Korea said on Friday.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said at a forum in Seoul that if there was any change in the sanctions toward North Korea, the resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex would be on the top of the list to resolve, Xinhua news agency reported.

Cho, however, said addressing the issue now was actually difficult to start under the current situations.

The jointly-run inter-Korean factory park in North Korea's border town of Kaesong was closed down under the previous government following Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January last year. The fifth nuclear detonation occurred in September of the year.

Cho said North Korea should stop nuclear tests and missile launches to enter into the stage of negotiations, citing it as a condition for the resumption of the Kaesong factory park.

He vowed to make phased efforts to resume the Kaesong industrial complex.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was widely estimated to inherit the Sunshine Policy of engagement with North Korea through economic cooperation and the exchanges of sports, culture and personnel.

Moon emphasised the New Economic Roadmap on the Korean Peninsula, his own version of the Sunshine Policy, to enhance inter-Korean relations and build peace on the peninsula. The version is often called Moonshine Policy.