U.S.-Korea FTA Will Exclude Kaesong Products

The Joongang Ilbo reports:

A U.S. official said yesterday that Washington would not consider goods manufactured at an industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong as South Korean products in its free-trade negotiations with Seoul. “In our view, the agreement applies to goods produced only in South Korea and the United States,” a senior economic official at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said at a background press briefing. Asked if that position was negotiable, he said, “We hope that the Kaesong issue won’t be a major hurdle in reaching the comprehensive goal of signing the free trade agreement.”

A good backgrounder on the Kaesong Industrial Park here, via Reuters and the Boston Globe.