Press Release (June 19)
Outcome of the Second Round of Working-Level Meeting between the DPRK Authority and the ROK government Concerning Gaeseong Industrial Complex
<Outline>
l On June 19, the delegations from the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) had two plenary sessions before and after noon at the Office for Economic Cooperation and Consultations in Gaeseong.
- The two parties agreed to hold the follow-up meeting on July 2 at the Office for Economic Cooperation and Consultations in Gaeseong.
l The South delegation came forward with a practical approach that suggests to prioritize the issue of the South Korean employee being detained by the North Korean authority and to address pending issues for stable operation and development of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC) .
- The North delegation insisted on putting the land use fees as the prime agenda for the meeting after expressing its positions on the recent situation surrounding the Korean peninsula.
The South delegation s keynote speech amounts to 33 pages of document which took about 40 minutes to be announced to the North s counterpart.
<The South delegation proposed three principles for the GIC development>
l The South delegation proposed three principles for the GIC development.
- Principle of establishing rules: Both sides must abide by all inter-Korean agreements, contracts, regulations and order.
- Principle of pursuing the philosophy of economics: The operation and development of the GIC must follow economic principles and not be affected by political or military situations.
- Principle of future-oriented development: Future-oriented attitude and unwavering will to develop the GIC into a strong competitor in the global market must be maintained.
<Issue of a South Korean employee detained by the DPRK authority>
l The South delegation demanded access to the South Korean citizen being detained by the DPRK authority for a prolonged period of time and strongly urged immediate release of him.
- We also tried to deliver two letters: one to the detainee from his family who are worrying about his safety; and the other to demand the DPRK authority the South delegation s access to the detainee.
l The North delegation told us that they are investigating him and will deal with the issue according to the Agreement on the Entry and Stay in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex Zone and Mt. Geumgang Tourism Zone.
- Rejecting to deliver the letter from his family, the North delegation answered, Deliver his family the message that his safety is guaranteed.
<Pending issues concerning the GIC>
l The South delegation proposed to rescind the measures that the DPRK authority took on Dec. 1 last year to restrict South Korean citizens cross-border travel and stay in the North; to address the 3C problems (cross-border travel, communications network and customs clearance); and to implement the Joint Committee for Entry and Stay in both Koreas.
- We delivered our position that we cannot accept the North s demand to renegotiate land royalty issue.
- We also suggested that other pending issues including daycare center construction are negotiable along with the retraction of the North s Dec. 1 measures.
l The North delegation insisted on negotiating land royalty as the first agenda, repeating its position on land royalty, land use fees, wages and taxes.
- The North expressed, however, that they are willing to rescind its Dec. 1 measures to ease the difficulties the GIC companies are having.
- They proposed working-level negotiation for construction of daycare centers, accommodation facilities for North Korean workers and access-ways to be used for the workers commutes.
<The South delegation offered to make joint site-inspections on foreign industrial complexes>
l The South delegation proposed to make joint site-inspections on industrial complexes in foreign countries such as China and Vietnam in July this year.
- This proposal is intended to seek ways to address the issues raised by both sides in a reasonable way and to develop the GIC into a competitive force in the global market.
We proposed to make a staged program of site-inspections, starting from industrial complexes in Asian countries such as China and Vietnam in July this year and then those in Central Asia to those in developed countries such as the U.S. and South America.
Ministry of Unification
