Inter-Korean trade tops US$775 mln

Trade between South and North Korea exceeded US$775 million in the first eight months of this year thanks to brisk growth of a joint industrial complex in the North, government data showed Friday.

The complex in Kaesong, a few kilometers north of the inter-Korean border, currently houses 13 South Korean garment, kitchenware and other labor-intensive plants. Under an agreement with North Korea, South Korea sends construction equipment and raw materials to the complex, whose manufactured goods are all brought to the South for domestic sales or exports.

According to the Unification Ministry data, inter-Korean trade between January and August amounted to $775.5 million, and nearly a quarter of that volume came from the Kaesong complex.

The inter-Korean trade involving the Kaesong complex amounted to $181.6 million, 23 percent of the entire volume during the January-August period. The complex has shown continuing growth since its first pilot zone opened in December 2004.

The trade from Kaesong made up 17 percent of the annual inter-Korean trade volume of 1 billion last year.

Besides the 13 firms now in operation in Kaesong, 24 more are constructing their plants in another pilot zone that opened last year in the complex.

The Kaesong complex is a key by-product of the 2000 summit between the leaders of the Koreas, which boosted reconciliation and cooperation between the two countries.

Seoul, Oct. 6 (Yonhap News)