South Korean lawmakers will tour the jointly-run Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea next week, officials said yesterday.

Pyongyang approved the visit next Wednesday by 24 National Assembly members and their aides, Ministry of Unification spokeswoman Park Sujin said.

The group will talk to the South Korean managers working at the Kaesong industrial complex about the latest on the park’s situation, said Jin Myung-gu, a secretary of Ahn Hong-joon, chairperson of the Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. Jin said they will not meet North Korean officials on their visit.

The venture park is the last remaining inter-Korean project from the previous era of rapprochement. North Korea withdrew its workers from the Kaesong industrial complex in April over disgruntlement with South Korea. After a series of negotiations, both Koreas eventually agreed to reopen it with the North’s promise not to unilaterally close it down again for its political gains.

When the park finally reopened in September after the five-month shutdown, President Park Geun-hye said she wanted to develop it into an international factory project by improving the infrastructure. The two Koreas agreed to implement measures to prevent another shutdown, including opening the park to foreign investors.

The visit comes about one month after Pyongyang abruptly canceled reunions for families separated during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

AP