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Exports from Kaesong park edge up
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- Exports from a joint park in North Korea continued to rise for a second month in September, government data showed Tuesday, a sign that the North's lifting of traffic rules is spawning business recovery there.
South Korean businesses operating at the industrial park in the North's border town of Kaesong exported US$3.42 million worth of goods in September, up 21.5 percent from the same month the previous year, according to the Unification Ministry data
In August, their exports had grown 29 percent on-year, breaking from a downward trend that had continued since May last year.
The ministry cited improved sales in machinery and electronics goods.
But output at the park dropped slightly in September to $24.09 million, down 0.1 percent from the same month last year.
The joint park also grew in size. Several more firms moved in, bringing the total number of South Korean businesses there to 116 employing a total of 40,848 North Koreans workers.
North Korea lifted traffic restrictions on South Korean commuters to the park in August as part of its shift toward conciliatory diplomacy with South Korea. Pyongyang had imposed traffic controls in December last year in protest over South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's hard-line policy toward it.
The Kaesong park opened in late 2004 as a major project born out of the historic first inter-Korean summit in 2000. Factories there produce mostly labor-intensive goods such as electronics, clothing and kitchenware.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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