{"id":4000,"date":"2018-12-13T14:20:51","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T05:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4000"},"modified":"2018-12-20T15:35:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T06:35:44","slug":"unauthorized-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2018\/12\/recommendations\/unauthorized-production\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e \u2018Made in Kaesong\u2019 is North Korea\u2019s hottest brand ... unauthorized operations continue at the Kaesong Industrial Complex"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Photo) A North Korean worker in a sewing factory within the Kaesong Industrial Complex. February 2007, ASIAPRESS<\/p><\/div>\n

In February 2016, it was revealed that factories within the Kaesong Industrial Complex were secretly maintaining operations. Despite the withdrawal of South Korean companies from the complex, following the decision of the Park Geun-hye administration, North Korean authorities had ordered for continued production of high-quality clothing at the complex. The clothing is said to be sold to wealthy North Koreans without labels or tags- in order to obscure its 'Kaesong\u2019 origin. (Kang Ji-won \/ ISHIMARU Jiro)<\/p>\n

In late November, a reporting partner living in South Pyongan Province reported the following: \u201c\u2018Kaesong products\u2019 are expensive compared to those made in China, but they are known for their high quality and are popular among North Korean officials and the wealthy. For example, a down jacket costs 650 Chinese yuan (95 USD). A similar, Chinese-made jacket goes for 350 yuan (about 51 USD).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the reporting partner, only the companies and institutions that issue the statements for official 'Kaesong products' are permitted to circulate them. The products are first transported from Kaesong to Pyongsong City, South Pyongan Province, from where they are then distributed nationwide. Before shipping from Pyongsong City, all labels and tags that could indicate the clothing\u2019s origin are cut off with scissors. Because the clothes can fetch a high price, a large number of counterfeiters have taken to selling fake products along with the authentic Kaesong-made products.<\/p>\n

The reporting partner described how the authorities maintain the secrecy of the operations in Kaesong, explaining, \"At the checkpoints on the roads leading out of Pyongsong City, \u2018label inspections\u2019 are conducted. If even a single item has a label left on, the whole lot of goods will be confiscated. There was a case in mid-November when one distributor had tags discovered on their products at a checkpoint along the road to Chongjin City and had to give a bribe of 2,000 yuan (291 USD) to avoid having all of the products confiscated.\" <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, \u2018Made in Kaesong' has essentially become a highly-valued brand across the country. But why is the state making such an effort to intentionally remove the labels?<\/p>\n

The reporting partner explained, \"The authorities are making sure that the outside world does not find out that the factories in Kaesong are secretly in operation. It would surely become a problem if South Korea found any evidence.\"<\/p>\n

Next page: The reporting partner had never seen\u2026 <\/strong><\/strong>
\nAs the reporting partner had never seen the \u2018Made in Kaesong\u2019 tags personally, the partner could not tell if the products were made with materials from South Korea or from China. It is likely, the partner said, that the Kaesong-made products are manufactured with raw materials, such as fabric and zippers, sent from China and with some materials left behind by South Korean companies when they withdrew.<\/p>\n

When South Korean companies withdrew from the Kaesong Industrial Complex in 2016, the North Korean authorities began to secretly operate the factories, originally, to produce high-quality clothing to be exported to China. In 2017, however, U.N. sanctions were tightened and exports to China were banned, so the products were instead sold to rich clientele domestically. ASIAPRESS conducted an investigation of the continued production in Kaesong and released its findings in January 2018.<\/p>\n

The North Korean government, however, has previously admitted to continuing operations in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. On October 6, 2017, through Uriminzokkiri, a state-run website for delivering propaganda to a South Korean audience, the regime declared that \u201cWhatever business we conduct in the Industrial Complex is of no concern to others ... the Industrial Complex factories will continue to be operated at full capacity\".<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, power to the Kaesong Industrial Complex from South Korea remains cut off.<\/p>\n

\u203b ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners through Chinese mobile phones smuggled into North Korea.<\/p>\n

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