S. Korea, DPRK to form joint team to inspect industrial complexes in China, Vietnam

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) decided to form a joint inspection team to survey industrial complexes in China and Vietnam next month, as an effort to find an international model to help develop the inter-Korean Kaesong park.

The team will consist of 20 officials, ten from each side, to conduct a 10-day inspection for "successfully operated" industrial complexes in China and Vietnam, the Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said at a press briefing, adding that the details of the inspection will come soon.

With an aim to raise the competitiveness of the Kaesong industrial park, the inspection will focus on operation situations at overseas industrial complexes, ranging from laws and regulations, management systems to wage levels, according to the spokesman.

The government "expects this joint inspection will contribute to forming an inter-Korean consensus for developing the Kaesong industrial park," Chun said.

The joint move is the third between South Korea and the DPRK following the first in 2005 and the second in 2007, Chun said.

The Kaesong complex, where 116 South Korean companies operate with more than 40,800 DPRK workers, was jointly set up in late 2004 as a reconciliation project of the two sides.