South Korean goods and services going in or out of North Korea will now
have to be approved by the unification minister, according to the ministry
yesterday. Trade with the Kaesong Industrial Complex will be the only
exception to the rule, which takes effect Monday, the ministry said.
This is a follow-up to South Korea’s decision on May 24 to halt all inter-
Korean trade, except that at Kaesong, as punishment for the sinking of the
South Korean corvette Cheonan in March, which the South has blamed on
the North.
“To effectively implement the government’s decision to halt inter-Korean
trade, we revised the rules regarding the approval processes regarding
goods and services crossing the inter-Korean border,” said Chun Hae-sung,
spokesman for the ministry, in a media briefing.
Until yesterday, items traded with North Korea didn’t need to be
individually approved. The report by the Korea Development Institute said
the suspension of trade will cost North Korea about $280 million annually.
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