South Korean footwear workers stay in North's factory zone despite risk
04/04/2013
The North Korean government barred access to the Kaesong Industrial park, where 123 mostly small South Korean firms employ 50,000 North Korean workers to make shoes, clothing and other goods.
It has allowed South Korean factory managers and workers to leave Kaesong, about 5km inside North Korea. But out of 828 people who spent the night there just 222 had indicated they wanted to return to South Korea today, with the rest continuing to try to keep their factories running, according to Reuters.
The North has warned it will close the zone in reprisal for what it sees as "hostile" military exercises by the US and South Korea, which have been beefed up in response to threats of war.
"I have four dependents in my family. We didn't go there for political reasons, we were there to make our living," said Kwon Bo-sun, a truck driver waiting at the border.
In November, a delegation of leather industry representatives from China met contacts from Russia and North Korea to discuss setting up manufacturing operations in Kaesong. Nine businesses from Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jilin met representatives from Vladivostok and Rason, looking to take advantage of the zone’s low cost base.
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