President Kim Dae-jung of the Republic of Korea adopted a policy to create rapprochement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The first-ever inter-Korean summit was convened in 2000. The setting up of the joint industrial complex was to bring North Korea in international business and trade and to create investment opportunities in line with South Korean global free trade dynamics.
As a result of this policy, Kaesong Industrial Complex was set up in December 2004. Leading Korean Chaebols (conglomerates) established number of factories in the complex, which was just 10 km away from border with South Korea and 50 km from Seoul. As of latest information, there were 124 South Korean factories. Mostly these factories were labour-intensive taking benefit of cheap and available unemployed North Korean labour force.
Strategic Perspectives Through Research and Dialogue
