On Oct. 27, the governments of both Koreas opened the first joint office for economic cooperation in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong.

The office will operate as an inter-governmental channel supporting bilateral trade and investment, according to Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong Jo. “It is the first [South Korean] government office to be stationed in the North since the division [of the Korean Peninsula],” Rhee said. “The office will be an institution to improve South-North economic cooperation in both quality and quantity.”

Fourteen officials from South Korea’s ministries of unification, economy and commerce will be living at Gaeseong, and working with 10 North Korean representatives at the Office of Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation.

The two sides are expected to discuss in a future meeting issues such as reconnecting a cross-border railroad line, fisheries and South Korea’s plans for an industrial park in Gaeseong. Last June, ground was broken in Gaeseong for what will be a joint industrial park accommodating around 300 South Korean firms, most of which will be manufacturing textile and electronic products using North Korean workers.

The joint governmental office was part of an agreement reached at a July meeting in Seoul, where Pyongyang agreed to allow South Koreans into North Korea to mine coal, magnesium and zinc. Seoul, in turn, agreed to give Pyongyang the material to make clothes, shoes and soap.

Breakthrough?

North Korea agrees to dismantle nuclear program but details unclear

After two years of stop-and-start six-party negotiations, North Korea on Sept. 19 agreed to tear down its nuclear weapons and atomic facilities and to allow international inspections in exchange for more aid and security assurances. Several days later, however, Pyongyang recanted.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. envoy, said the agreement was a “win-win situation,” but urged Pyongyang to immediately shut down its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon.

President Bush said the latest agreement was a move in the right direction, but remained skeptical about whether the regime would make good on its promises.

“They have said — in principle — that they will abandon their weapons programs,” Bush told the Associated Press. “And what we have said is, ‘Great. That’s a wonderful step forward.’ But now we’ve got to verify whether that happens. The question is, over time will all parties adhere to the agreement,” Bush said.

The resolution came after seven days of talks between representatives from China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas, after which the envoys agreed to return in early November to begin hashing out details to ensure compliance.

According to a joint statement issued at the talks’ conclusion, the North “committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning at an early date” to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. The six parties unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of the six-party talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner,” the statement said.