S. Korea Studies Plans to Protect Its Citizens in Kaesong

HOW ABOUT, ‘STAY OUT OF KAESONG?’:

A senior South Korean government official said when North Korea banned South Korean traffic to the industrial park late last year, the government began working out measures in preparation for the possibility of the industrial park’s closure. “Since last Friday when the North declared all incumbent regulations and contracts regarding the Kaesong Industrial Complex null and void, we’ve been mapping out concrete measures in preparation for various scenarios concerning the North’s possible close-down of the industrial park.” The key point in the contingency plan is to ensure the safety of South Korean staff at Kaesong, he added. [Chosun Ilbo]

What, short of war, can South Korea can do if the North Koreans decide to take hostages on their own territory?  That’s just a risk South Koreans take every time they make the decision to enter North Korea.

Related:   How, exactly, does one spend a vacation in North Korea?

“Lee Im-dong, an executive of the association representing South Korean companies in Kaesong, confirmed that some companies have sent employees on vacation. The Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee, which oversees Kaesong operations for South Korea, said in a statement that as of yesterday, 500 Kaesong workers were on vacation. Kim Gyu-cheol of the Citizens’ Alliance for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation argued that some South Korean companies have not been able to pay employees on time. But the management committee countered that the delay has only been for a couple of weeks at most.” [Joongang Ilbo]

An even better question might be who is really getting those paychecks, but we’ve trodden that path before.