Korean Relations May Be Warming As Key Industrial Plant Looks To Reopen

Ahn Young-joon/Associated PressThe Kaesong Industrial Facility is set to reopen amid talks between the North and South. Moments after South Korea indicated that they were willing to let the Kaesong Industrial Facility close permanently, North Korea said they would likely reopen the plant, according to a report from Jack Kim with Reuters.

North Korea's Committee for the Reunification of Korea, which handles relations with Seoul, has scheduled talks to reopen the facility for Aug. 14. In a statement, the committee said both countries should ensure that operations at the facility not be affected by external matters in the future. South Korea promptly accepted the offer.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex, which lies just north of the Korean demilitarized zone, has been one of few points of coordination between the two countries since a 1953 armistice.

Relations between North and South Korea have been even more strained than normal after this spring, when the North conducted nuclear weapons tests and launched a string of threatening, bellicose rhetoric against South Korea and their American allies.

In April, the North closed the facility. It is not just one of few tethers to the outside world for the Hermit Kingdom, but also a key economic driver for the impoverished nation.

More than 50,000 North Korean citizens were employed at the complex, earning more than $90 million in annual wages paid directly to the North Korean government.