Seoul considering permanent closure of Kaesong

South Korean government is considering to permanently close the Kaesong Industrial Complex as official Pyongyang doesn’t give any respond to Seoul’s proposal to hold “final talks” on the fate of the complex, Chosun Ilbo newspaper writes on Tuesday. On a recent day the government of South Korea should decide on the investments into Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to compensate South Korean companies that established production in Kaesong and are now losing their business. In connection with North Korean authorities’ protracted silence, South Korean government has warned Pyongyang that its patience over new talks date is running out. A total of 109 out of 123 South Korean companies operating in Kaesong have already asked the government to earmark 270 million Wons ($242.4 million) to compensate losses from the closure of the industrial park. Once they get their compensation, the companies will cede their enterprises to the government, “so the payouts more or less seal the closure,” the newspaper writes. The government of South Korea should also decide whether to shut off water and electricity supply to Kaesong Industrial Complex. In fact this will also mean the closure of that cross-border joint venture. The Kaesong Industrial Complex was established north of the border in 2004 as a rare symbol of economic cooperation between the two Koreas.