NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 305 (March 20, 2014)
2014/03/20 11:04
INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS
S. Korea remains cautious on fertilizer aid to N. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea is cautious on fertilizer aid to North Korea by private relief agencies, an official said on March 17, amid fresh signs of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Unification ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do said private organizations should consult with the government on the issue of fertilizer aid to the North.
The comments are widely seen as disapproval of the plan to ship fertilizer to the North by a coalition of about 200 South Korean civic groups.
South Korea has banned fertilizer aid to the North by its private relief agencies since May 2010, when Seoul slapped sanctions on Pyongyang in retaliation for the deadly sinking of a warship blamed on North Korea.
The North has refused to take responsibility for the sinking that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
Kim also reaffirmed that the government is not considering providing fertilizer to the North.
His comments came a day after North Korea fired 25 short-range rockets into waters off its east coast in what may have been a routine military exercise.
The South Korean government gave 2.45 million tons of rice to North Korea between 1995 and 2010, and 2.55 million tons of fertilizer between 1999 and 2007, according to the unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
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Seoul's civic group launches campaign to send fertilizer to N. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- An association of civic groups here said on March 14 it has launched a public campaign to send 1 million sacks of fertilizer to North Korea to help resolve its food crisis and to improve inter-Korean ties.
The Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC), a coalition of pro-unification civic and social groups in South Korea, launched the campaign on Wednesday with a goal to send one 20-kilogram bag of fertilizer per person to the North.
The 1 million sacks, or 20,000 tons, can support some 200 farms on 660 square kilometers in the impoverished communist country, according to the KCRC.
As of 6 p.m. on Thursday, it secured 73,210 bags, the organization said, adding that one bag of fertilizer costs 12,000 won (US$11.2).
"The campaign aims to help resolve the North's chronic food crisis and to boost the morale of farmers there," the KCRC said in a press release.
"We also expect the project to lay a foundation for the two Koreas to get prepared for national reunification in a way to benefit the both Koreas," it added.
The Seoul government has suspended food and fertilizer aid to the North in recent years, though it has allowed private aid agencies to ship humanitarian assistance to help vulnerable children and women in the North.
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N. Korea demands wage hike for Kaesong workers
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea is demanding a 10-percent pay increase for its workers at an inter-Korean joint factory park for this year, an official said on March 16.
The base pay of North Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, named after the North's border city where it is located, was set at a minimum of $67 per month based on an inter-Korean agreement. South Korean companies give a 5 percent raise annually, and each company pays for overtime.
In addition to a 5 percent annual hike missed last year due to a sudden halt of the park's operations, the North is demanding an additional 5 percent, said the Unification Ministry official.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex was shut down in early April 2013 after the North unilaterally pulled out all of its workers. It reopened in September after Pyongyang agreed not to repeat such a suspension.
"North Korean authorities in charges of the Kaesong complex have recently demanded a 10 percent raise in the base pay of Kaesong workers," the official said.
The Seoul government, however, has decided not to respond to Pyongyang's demands in line with the agreement set by the two sides, the official added.
"(The Seoul government) cannot accept the North's unilateral demands when South Korean firms are having difficulty due to last year's shutdown," the official said.
The output at the Kaesong park totaled US$352.9 million in December, slightly lower than the $364.2 million posted a year earlier, according to ministry data, showing that the operations have almost recovered their normal level.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex, an offshoot from an agreement from the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000, began operations in 2004. The complex now hosts 123 South Korean companies, employing 53,000 North Korean workers to mainly produce labor-intensive goods.
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Koreas discuss arbitration procedures for Kaesong
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- An inter-Korean panel on the arbitration of legal disputes discussed details of arbitration procedures and rules at its meeting held on March 13, the unification ministry said.
The meeting at the jointly run factory park in the North's western border city of Kaesong is the first of its kind since 2000 when the rival Koreas adopted a deal on solving legal disputes through arbitration.
The two sides had substantial discussions on the arbitration rules to be applied once the panel starts its business, the ministry said.
"The two sides shared the view that the arbitration system has an important meaning as one of the ways of solving disputes in the Kaesong industrial complex and exchanged opinions focusing on the details of arbitration procedures and the delivery of the list of arbitrators from North Korea," it said.
The South has sent the arbitrator list to the North, but the North has yet to follow suit.
The ministry, however, did not say whether they made tangible decisions during the meeting. The two Koreas agreed to hold the 2nd round of the talks in the near future in order to continue their discussion on the arbitration system.
The panel was made up in accordance with the two countries' agreement in September last year, which is expected to play a role equivalent to that of a court in the industrial park.
The panel is composed of five officials each from the rival Koreas. The sides also have 30 arbitrators each for the panel, which will handle possible legal disputes in the sprawling factory park.
The factory park, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, is home to 120 small South Korean plants producing garments, shoes, watches and other labor-intensive goods. More than 44,000 North Koreans work in the complex.
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