South Korea has officially decided to dissolve its foundation designed for facilitating the inter-Korean economic complex on Thursday, further solidifying its hardline policy towards Pyongyang.
“Considering operational efficiency and the overall situation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, we have decided to dissolve the Kaesong Industrial District Foundation,” the South’s Unification announced on the same day.
The foundation, which was established in 2007, is a legal entity established under the Act on Supporting the Kaesong Industrial Region.
It had the responsibility of managing and operating the inter-Korean economic zone of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
Following the suspension of the complex’s operations in 2016 due to deteriorating inter-Korean relations, the foundation redirected its efforts towards supporting the normalization of the inter-Korean business operations.
“After dissolution, the foundation will be converted into a liquidation corporation and will operate with a minimal staff of no more than five employees,” the ministry said, adding that the official procedure is likely to take place from March.
The decision comes amid the firm stance of South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on implementing hardline policy towards Pyongyang. Yoon’s conservative administration has been openly vowing to proceed reciprocal responses to North Korea’s provocations.
North Korea has been ramping up its provocation against South Korea. In a rare New Year message delivered late Tuesday, for instance, the North Korean leader's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong claimed that Seoul's hardline policy was only providing justification for Pyongyang's development of its self-defense military capabilities.
“The prolonged suspension of the complex has essentially rendered the foundation’s work ineffective, and issues have been continuously raised regarding the inefficiency of operating the foundation externally,” a unification ministry official told reporters in Seoul. “Additionally, the recent infringement of our property rights by North Korea also impedes the possibility of resuming the foundation’s work.”
Seoul’s decision also follows a rare criticism by Yoon in July, directed at his own government. Yoon openly stated that the Unification Ministry should not be primarily focusing on providing aid to North Korea, hinting at a shift in the government’s approach towards its northern neighbor.
Traditionally, the ministry has been largely dedicated to offering humanitarian aid to the North Korean nationals, whom the South Korean Constitution defines as its own people.
With escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the prospects of unification appear increasingly remote for both sides, with Kim Jong Un warning that military conflicts on the Korean peninsula could "arise at any moment," as reported by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Monday.
The KCNA report also said that North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, along with the head of the United Front Department Ri Son Gwon, hosted a meeting to discuss ways to deliver Kim’s orders to restructure organizations involved in South Korean affairs.
Kim, as he wrapped up its Central Committee Plenary Meeting of the Workers’ Party Korea Saturday, also said the inter-Korean unification could never be achieved.
Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States began their first joint military drills for this year on Thursday, involving the U.S Air Force asset, Rivet Joint, a reconnaissance aircraft designed for intelligence collection.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.