ROK, DPRK sign agreement for Kaesong complex

SEOUL - Republic of Korea and the Democratic People' s Republic of Korea officially signed an agreement on forming a joint committee to run the Kaesong industrial complex, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Thursday.

Under the agreement, Seoul and Pyongyang will set up a joint management committee for the Kaesong factory park that has one chairman and five members each from both sides sitting on board, according to the Ministry of Unification.

The committee, which will be in charge of running the industrial zone, plans to hold a regular meeting once every quarter. The first meeting of the joint committee will be held next Monday.

Four other subcommittees will be formed, including those in charge of guaranteeing personal safety, protecting assets, discussing passage, communications and customs, and strengthening global competitiveness.

The subcommittees, which will be composed of one head and around 3 members each from both sides, plans to gather regularly once a month.

Furthermore, the two Koreas plans to establish a standing secretariat to give administrative supports to the committee and subcommittees.

The agreement came around two weeks after the two Koreas agreed to reopen the jointly operated factory park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong. The industrial zone, which 123 ROK's companies run factories, had been suspended for more than four months after the DPRK withdrew all of its workers from Kaesong in early April.

The formation of the committee will grant Seoul an equal say with Pyongyang on running the factory park. In the past, the industrial zone was managed solely by the DPRK's General Bureau for Development Guidance of Central Special Zone.