The 4.5-kilometer road linking North Korea's border city of Kaesong to the nearby industrial park is used by more than 47,000 North Korean workers who are employed by some 120 South Korean firms operating in the zone. South Korean officials earlier said the road was damaged in summer's torrential rains, prompting the South to conduct an on-site survey.
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"After signing an agreement (with the North), we expect to start repair work next week," said an official at the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean relations in the South.
"It will likely take about three months to complete the work, unless the weather becomes too cold, and cost us around 1.8 billion won (US$1.59 million)," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The repairs will involve restoring damaged paved sections and filling in holes on unpaved sections. Repairing the road is expected to save time for North Korean commuters and reduce traffic accidents.
The complex, an achievement of the first-ever inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2000, combines South Korea's capital and technology with cheap labor from the North to produce clothes, utensils, watches and other goods.
The repair work comes shortly after Seoul said it will allow its companies to resume stalled construction of facilities in the complex, despite a ban on new investments following the North's sinking of a South Korean warship last year.
Seoul has recently pledged a principled but flexible policy toward its provocative neighbor, which also shelled a South Korean border island last November. The two attacks killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
hague@yna.co.kr
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