The South suspended operations at the industrial complex in February last year, saying that money Pyongyang made from the venture was going towards its nuclear weapons programme.
North Korea has started operating some Seoul-invested factories in its Kaesong industrial complex after South Korea pulled out of the joint venture, Pyongyang’s online media said today.
The South suspended operations at the industrial complex in February last year, saying that money Pyongyang made from the venture was going towards its nuclear weapons programme.
An association representing the 120 South Korean firms operating factories in Kaesong, which lies just across the North Korean border, estimated the value of the assets left behind at 820 billion won ($663 million).
Today, North Korean media outlets confirmed joint-run factories were still running and that plants left by the South could no longer be considered their assets.
“No one can interfere with whatever we are doing in the industrial zone that lies within our sovereign territory,” Uriminzokkiri, one of Pyongyang’s propaganda outlets, wrote.
