[THE INVESTOR] South Korea dismissed talks of reopening the now-shuttered joint Koesong industrial park with North Korea on Aug. 10.
Six months ago, Seoul shut down the industrial complex in the North’s border city of the same name, the last symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, in response to the communist country’s fourth nuclear test in January and launch of a long-range rocket in the following month.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry stressed that the closure of the complex was an inevitable decision as North Korea has never stopped its nuclear and missile development, and threatening South Korea’s national security.
“At a time when North Korea poses (nuclear and missile) threats, it is nonsense to talk about the reopening of the factory zone,” Jeong Joon-hee, ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.
Seoul said that the government places priority on making Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons program over the resumption of any inter-Korean talks.
Critics and opposition lawmakers said the government should seek ways to resume the factory zone, saying that politics and economic activities need to be handled separately.
