Roundup: UN chief to visit Kaesong indusrial complex in DPRK to ease tensions

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that he will visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the border town of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula after the DPRK's test-launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.

Ban told a press conference after attending the World Education Forum in South Korea's port city of Incheon that he will visit the industrial zone Thursday, adding that details on his visit are under discussion.

It would be his first trip to the inter-Korean factory park since the UN chief took office in 2007. He visited the city as South Korean foreign minister in June 2006.

Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali crossed the demilitarized zone to Pyongyang, where he met with late DPRK leader Kim Il Sung, grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un, in December 1993.

Tensions on the peninsula escalated after the DPRK said on May 9 that it had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from its submarine.

Ban told reporters that he believed in the power of dialogue, which could be the only way to resolve the Korean Peninsula issues, stressing that world peace and security was one of the most important issues that should be tackled by the UN chief.

The UN chief is scheduled to cross the western land border on Thursday afternoon to visit Kaesong, where Ban is expected to stay for about an hour along with South Korean government officials.

During his stay, Ban plans to meet with DPRK workers employed by South Korean companies running factories in Kaesong and tour the medical center there.

On Wednesday, an advance team from South Korea would visit the Kaesong industrial zone to discuss details on Ban's trip, including with whom the UN chief meets from the DPRK authorities.

Ban reportedly called for his Kaesong trip to the DPRK through diplomatic channels in New York, and notified South Korea of his travel plan.

A senior UN official was quoted by local broadcaster YTN as saying that Ban had a willingness to visit the DPRK beyond Kaesong, indicating his possible travel to Pyongyang and talks with top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

Ban's visit comes amid the rising tensions on the peninsula, caused by the DPRK's test-fire of the submarine-launched ballistic missile, last week's live-fire exercise with hundreds of rounds of artillery shells near the disputed maritime border and ongoing conflicts between Seoul and Pyongyang over the wage hike for DPRK workers in Kaesong.

The Kaesong wage row came after the DPRK revised labor regulations in November 2014 without consulting with South Korea and unilaterally notified the South side of its decision in late February.

Under the revision, the DPRK raised minimum wages for their workers in Kaesong from 70.35 U.S. dollars to 74 dollars from March, topping the growth ceiling of 5 percent agreed upon by an inter-Korean agreement.

South Korea expressed deep regrets over the "unilateral" decision, saying the move breached the previous north-south agreement, under which the two sides should adjust labor conditions after consultations.

Pyongyang called on South Korean companies in Kaesong to pay the increased wage or sign a written guarantee that they will pay the increased wage later as arrears charge.

In response, Seoul said that any company paying the increased wage would face an administrative penalty.

The Kaesong industrial zone, launched in late 2004 and jointly managed by the two Koreas, has been seen as one of the key symbols of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Some 120 South Korean companies hiring 53,000 DPRK workers are operating in the park.

In 2013, the factory park was shut down for five months as Pyongyang withdrew its workers amid rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Endi