Series of inter-Korean projects being delayed due to N. Korea's lack of response
Arirang News
2018-10-30
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北 무응답에 개성공단 기업인 방북 등 10월 남북행사 지연
A slew of inter-Korean cooperation projects slated for October,... appear to be facing some obstacles.
Among them, the South Korean businessmen's trip to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the North Korean art troupe's concert in Seoul, possibly delayed due to a lack of response from Pyeongyang.
Park Hee-jun tells us more. Numerous cooperation projects between South and North Korea that were agreed at the high-level talks earlier this month,... are running behind schedule, due to the North's reluctance to provide a clear response.
According to an official at Seoul's Unification Ministry on Tuesday,... the planned visit to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex has been delayed indefinitely.
Around 150 business owners from the South were scheduled to visit the complex this week,... to review their assets.
That would have been the first visit since the joint factory park closed down in February 2016.
But with North Korea yet to respond to the proposal,... it remains unclear when it will happen.
North Korea's art troupe was also supposed to hold a concert in the South within the month,... but that, too, has been put on hold.
The official told reporters that Seoul is still waiting for a response from Pyeongyang on the specific date of the concert.
When asked whether it will take place in November,... the official replied only by saying the two Koreas are working together to implement the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.
Other agreements made for the month of October at the high-level meeting, including a joint inspection of roads and railways and working-level talks on health and sports... also haven't seen much progress.
Talks on forestry and military cooperation have been held recently though, suggesting that these areas may be a priority for the regime.
The delays in other areas could also reflect North Korea's frustration over a lack of progress,... that comes amid Washington's concerns over the fast improvement in inter-Korean relations, unaccompanied by the North's denuclearization.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
A slew of inter-Korean cooperation projects slated for October,... appear to be facing some obstacles.
Among them, the South Korean businessmen's trip to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the North Korean art troupe's concert in Seoul, possibly delayed due to a lack of response from Pyeongyang.
Park Hee-jun tells us more. Numerous cooperation projects between South and North Korea that were agreed at the high-level talks earlier this month,... are running behind schedule, due to the North's reluctance to provide a clear response.
According to an official at Seoul's Unification Ministry on Tuesday,... the planned visit to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex has been delayed indefinitely.
Around 150 business owners from the South were scheduled to visit the complex this week,... to review their assets.
That would have been the first visit since the joint factory park closed down in February 2016.
But with North Korea yet to respond to the proposal,... it remains unclear when it will happen.
North Korea's art troupe was also supposed to hold a concert in the South within the month,... but that, too, has been put on hold.
The official told reporters that Seoul is still waiting for a response from Pyeongyang on the specific date of the concert.
When asked whether it will take place in November,... the official replied only by saying the two Koreas are working together to implement the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.
Other agreements made for the month of October at the high-level meeting, including a joint inspection of roads and railways and working-level talks on health and sports... also haven't seen much progress.
Talks on forestry and military cooperation have been held recently though, suggesting that these areas may be a priority for the regime.
The delays in other areas could also reflect North Korea's frustration over a lack of progress,... that comes amid Washington's concerns over the fast improvement in inter-Korean relations, unaccompanied by the North's denuclearization.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
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