ROK required to lift sanctions on DPRK for economic cooperation

SEOUL -- The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s experts on inter-Korean affairs believed that the government needs to lift sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to resume the stalled inter-Korean economic cooperation, a survey showed Thursday.

Six out of 10 South Korean experts on DPRK issues believed that top priority should be put on the elimination of the May 24 sanctions to expand inter-Korean economic cooperation, according to the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI)'s survey of 69 experts.

The sanctions were imposed in 2010 after a South Korean warship sank off the disputed western maritime border. Seoul claimed that the sinking was caused by the DPRK's torpedo attack, but Pyongyang denied its involvement.

Some South Korean experts have raised possibility for the Cheonan warship running aground on a reef, and those questions resulted in a documentary film "Project Cheonan Ship," produced in 2013 by a South Korean filmmaker. Pyongyang offered to jointly re-investigate into the incident, a proposal flatly rejected by Seoul.

South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol told a press briefing Wednesday that there is no change in its position to maintain the May 24 sanctions until the DPRK takes responsible action. Seoul has called for apology and measures taken by Pyongyang to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

Meanwhile, nine out of 10 respondents stressed the need for an expanded participation of South Korean firms into the Kaesong industrial zone.

The inter-Korean factory park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong has been in troubles as the DPRK unilaterally decided to raise a basic salary for about 53,000 DPRK workers employed by 125 South Korean companies running factories there.

Under the decision, minimum wage for DPRK workers was raised from $70.35 per month to 74 dollars from March. Including social security, allowances, overtime and welfare, the wage would rise from 155.5 dollars to 164.1 dollars.

Pyongyang revised its labor regulations in November 2014, notifying Seoul of its decision in late February without consultations. It violated the inter-Korean agreement that allows labor conditions in Kaesong to be adjusted after consultations between the two sides.