North Korea looks to lure footwear producers to ‘special industrial zone’
Footwear manufacturers are among the South Korean businesses that North Korea is hoping to lure to its ‘special industrial zone’, which is planned for its Southern border.
Conceived as part of the North’s wider programme to attract much needed foreign investment, the zone will be located near the town of Kaesong, which is sited immediately to the North of the 4-kilometre- (2.5-mile)-wide Demilitarised Zone.
According to the North Korean State news agency, the zone will be developed by South Korean group Hyundai in conjunction with South Korea's state-run Korea Land Corp. The report says hundreds of South Korean companies have already applied to relocate there - the main attraction being North Korean labour rates that are one-tenth of those in the South. People will be able to visit the zone from the South without visas and all equipment and materials for the zone will be exempt from customs duties. As added assurance, electricity will be provided from the South.
Despite the high levels of business interest already generated by the project, observers have warned it could be delayed by tensions arising from the North’s nuclear ambitions and investor worries over doing business with such an oppressive regime.
