SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- Output at an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong rose by over 10 percent in October from the previous month, data released by the Unification Ministry said Sunday.

   In October, companies in the Kaesong complex produced goods totaling US$29.41 million in value, up by $2.72 million, or 10.2 percent, from $26.69 million in September, according to the data.

   The figure increased by 8.9 percent from the same month last year, they showed.

   Total output for the Kaesong complex had been on the decline since the Cheonan incident in March, in which 46 sailors died in a torpedo attack blamed on North Korea. The figure hit $26.41 million in July.

   The data also showed that the number of North Korean workers in the border town complex marked 44,958 in October, rising steadily from 42,397 in March.

   "Although the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23, North Korean workers have been on the rise," said a ministry official. "According to unofficial statistics, 45,300 North Koreans are working in Kaesong today."

   The Kaesong industrial park is considered the last remaining major symbol of reconciliation efforts between the two Koreas, whose relations have been tense over the past three years. The park began operating in 2004 as a product of the first inter-Korean summit held four years earlier.

   brk@yna.co.kr
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