SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- Amid North Korea's prolonged entry ban of South Koreans into the joint inter-Korean industrial park in the border town of Kaesong, South Korean firms operating in the zone demanded Thursday that the North allow special entry for emergency medical workers.

   Operations at the joint complex, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation, came to a full stop on Tuesday following the North's pull out of North Korean laborers employed by South Korean firms there.

   As the suspension continues, the local general Paik Hospital, the operator of a roughly 10-person medical team, pull its medical workers out of the zone last Saturday, citing a lack of daily necessities.

   In response, the association of South Korean firms operating in the park has said that the North should allow South Korean medical workers into the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the event of emergent patients.
On Sunday, a 43-year old South Korean man had to be rushed to a South Korean hospital from the Kaesong park just north of the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border due to the withdrawal of the medical team.

   About 300 South Koreans are still in the park, with the North only allowing South Koreans to leave the zone.

   The association also called on the North to take urgent measures to solve disruptions on their production caused by the withdrawal of North Korean workers and the entry ban.

   The industrial complex, which went into operation in 2004, combines South Korea's capital and technology with cheap North Korean labor. About 53,000 North Korean workers were employed by 123 South Korean companies before the suspension.

   pbr@yna.co.kr
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