On the morning of the 12th, citizens wearing masks are commuting to work through Sindorim Station in Seoul. Regarding claims that restarting the Kaesong Industrial Complex to produce masks could yield 10 million masks per day, the Ministry of Unification stated, "There is no precedent of Kaesong Industrial Complex resident companies producing only masks, so it is difficult to accurately estimate production volume."
On this day, a Ministry of Unification official told reporters, "The intention behind the proposal to produce masks at the Kaesong Industrial Complex is to overcome difficulties caused by COVID-19, so we fully sympathize," but added, "However, we must consider the practical issues involved in actual mask production."
He explained, "There is an estimate that if one mask manufacturer, about 70 sewing factories, and 35,000 North Korean workers are involved, 10 million cotton masks could be produced daily. However, the parts we can handle are operating about 70 factories, and the parts we cannot handle are the deployment of workers."
Deploying 35,000 workers to the complex is entirely up to North Korea's decision. He said, "This is an issue that must be discussed with the North, and it is difficult for us to unilaterally state how many North Korean personnel can work."
The official added, "The government's position that reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex is absolutely necessary remains unchanged," but said, "Since restarting the complex involves practical issues, it is desirable to proceed by comprehensively considering the conditions."
He also noted, "One of the practical conditions to consider is that North Korea has completely closed its borders and is focusing on quarantine measures."
When asked whether there had been consultations with the U.S. regarding mask production at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the official replied, "Not to my knowledge."
Regarding whether the government plans to send diagnostic kits instead of masks to North Korea, he said, "Basically, we believe that inter-Korean quarantine cooperation is necessary," but added, "At this stage, we need to make a comprehensive judgment while considering domestic circumstances, North Korea’s situation, and international trends."
Meanwhile, on the 5th, Kim Jin-hyang, director of the Kaesong Industrial District Support Foundation, wrote in a regional media article that one Kaesong Industrial Complex company can produce 1 million sanitary masks per month, about 50 companies can manufacture cotton masks, and 64 companies can produce sanitary protective suits. Recently, the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party have also supported such claims.
However, there are many opinions that the possibility of realizing such proposals is slim amid the international community’s high-level sanctions against North Korea and North Korea’s cold policy stance toward the South.
North Korea’s response is also uncertain. When the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, North Korea declared a national emergency quarantine system and took extreme measures by completely controlling air, sea, and land routes. In particular, on January 30, when confirmed COVID-19 cases occurred consecutively in South Korea, North Korea, after consultations with the South, temporarily closed the Kaesong Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office as well.
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