Kaesong Industial Plant Complex in North Korea Produces First Batch of Goods for South Korea
A South Korean company has produced the first batch of goods from its plant at the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea. Kaesong is located on the 38th Parallel, north of the DMZ. Kaesong had for centuries been the commercial center of Korea.
Kitchen-utensil maker Livingart has opened its newly constructed plant and began producing a range of pots and kitchen goods.
About 400 South Korean representatives, including Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, Hyundai ASAN Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, lawmakers and business people, and around 50 North Korean officials, such as Ju Dong-chan, who heads the Pyongyang agency managing the special zone, participated in the dedication ceremony marking the initial success of the pilot scheme.
Hyundai ASAN Chairwoman Hyun said that she was thrilled to see a South Korean company produce the first goods 15 years after her late father-in-law Hyundai's founding chairman Chung Ju-yung launched a cooperative project with the North.
The first made-in-Kaesong products included 1,000 sets of pots made by Livingart, which promptly crossed the Military Demarcation Line and were transported to the South by 8-ton trucks at around 2:00 p.m., before hitting the shelves at Lotte Department Store in Sogong-dong, central Seoul.
Among 13 South Korean firms that have been approved to conduct business in the industrial park, eight have been constructing their factories there. Shinwon, SJTek and Samdeok plan to complete building plants in Kaesong this year.
Kitchen-utensil maker Livingart has opened its newly constructed plant and began producing a range of pots and kitchen goods.
About 400 South Korean representatives, including Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, Hyundai ASAN Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, lawmakers and business people, and around 50 North Korean officials, such as Ju Dong-chan, who heads the Pyongyang agency managing the special zone, participated in the dedication ceremony marking the initial success of the pilot scheme.
Hyundai ASAN Chairwoman Hyun said that she was thrilled to see a South Korean company produce the first goods 15 years after her late father-in-law Hyundai's founding chairman Chung Ju-yung launched a cooperative project with the North.
The first made-in-Kaesong products included 1,000 sets of pots made by Livingart, which promptly crossed the Military Demarcation Line and were transported to the South by 8-ton trucks at around 2:00 p.m., before hitting the shelves at Lotte Department Store in Sogong-dong, central Seoul.
Among 13 South Korean firms that have been approved to conduct business in the industrial park, eight have been constructing their factories there. Shinwon, SJTek and Samdeok plan to complete building plants in Kaesong this year.
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