North and South Korea to reopen Kaesong industrial complex | World news | theguardian.com

Part of the Kaesong industrial complex. Photograph: /Reuters

North and South Korea have agreed to re-open a shuttered industrial park on a trial basis starting on Monday, according to the South's unification ministry.

The Kaesong industrial zone is located a few kilometres inside North Korea and was closed when Pyongyang pulled its 53,000 workers out amid rising tensions between the two Koreas in April.

Attempts will be made to attract foreign investors into the zone, said the ministry, which is responsible for handling South Korea's stance on inter-Korean relations.

The industrial park draws on investment from more than 100 South Korean firms. It provided cheap labour for South Korean firms and much-needed hard currency for the North, generating a $80m (£50m) wage bill last year, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

But it was also part of the Seoul's "sunshine policy" of reaching out to Pyongyang, which ended when the previous South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, took power in 2008.