U.S. Pols to visit North Korean complex

By KWANG-TAE KIM

SEOUL, South Korea

A group of four U.S. lawmakers plan to visit an industrial complex in North Korea this week that is run jointly by the two Koreas, a South Korean official said Thursday.

The four Democrats, led by U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington, will make a one-day trip to the complex in the North's border city of Kaesong on Friday to survey the situation, said the official, asking not to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to media.

The official, who handles the cross-border project, added that two Republicans had planned to tour the complex but they canceled the trip, citing personal reasons.

The trip comes three days before South Korean and American negotiators plan to meet in Montana for their fifth round of free-trade talks.

South Korea wants goods produced in Kaesong by North Korean workers to be recognized under the planned free-trade deal but the United States has adamantly opposed the idea, saying an agreement should only cover goods manufactured in South Korea.

Seoul and Washington kicked off the negotiations in June and have since made some headway but say they are unlikely to wrap up an agreement by the end of this year as originally hoped. If successful, a pact would be the biggest for Washington since the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1993.

The Kaesong industrial complex, located just north of the heavily fortified border, represents one of the fruits of a budding detente between the two Koreas since their leaders held a breakthrough summit in 2000.

The project combines the South's management expertise with the North's cheap labor.

Currently, 18 South Korean companies have set up shop in the enclave employing more than 10,000 North Korean workers.