S. Korea's ruling party leader to visit inter-Korean industrial complex in DPRK

South Korea's ruling Uri Party said on Thursday that its chairman Kim Geun-tae will visit the Kaesong industrial complex in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday.

The visit is regarded as a gesture to show Kim's support for the inter-Korean economic cooperation project in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong.

It will also be the first time for South Korean lawmakers to visit the DPRK since it conducted its first-ever nuclear test on Oct.9.

In the wake of the DPRK's nuclear test, the South Korean government faced strong calls both from the opposition parties and abroad to adjust its policy toward the DPRK, especially in terms of inter-Korean economic cooperation.

On Wednesday, Kim said that the inter-Korean projects were not "simple exchange programs, but symbols of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and a safety device for peace."

According to South Korea's Unification Ministry, some 40,000 South Koreans travel to the scenic mountain resort in the DPRK and pay about 1 million U.S. dollars in admission fees each month. In Kaesong, 15 South Korean companies pay about 600,000 U.S. dollars a month in wages to their 8,900 DPRK employees there.

Source: Xinhua