North Korea Demands Registration Fees for South Industrial Complex Residents

Mar 19, 05:59 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) - South and North Korea are engaged in negotiations over registration fees for South Korean residents at an industrial complex just north of the inter-Korean border, the Unification Ministry said Monday.

"North Korea demanded fees for the issuance of registration to South Korean residents. They raised the issue in the process of working out details for stays and residence at the Kaesong [Kaeso'ng] industrial complex," a ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The official declined to reveal the amount of money proposed by the North, only saying there is a wide gap between the two sides.

Under regulations set in December 2003, South Korea is supposed to pay fees in accordance with the period of residence: 90 days, more than 90 days or over a year.

Currently, there are about 800 South Korean residents at the complex, where South Korean businesses use cheap North Korean labour to produce goods. Twenty-one South Korean factories employ about 11,160 North Korean workers there.

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