Kaesŏng Industrial Complex

industrial park, North Korea

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

The Kaesong Industrial Complex was a joint venture between North and South Korea, established as a duty-free trade zone. Construction began in 2003, allowing South Korean companies to manufacture goods in North Korea. The park housed factories for textiles, chemicals, machinery, and electronics, employing thousands of North Koreans. However, its operation was highly dependent on the political relationship between the two countries. Tensions led to temporary shutdowns and eventual cessation of activity in 2016, with South Korea citing concerns that revenue from the complex was funding North Korea's nuclear program.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Kaesŏng
…area is home to the Kaesŏng Industrial Complex, an industrial park and duty-free trade facility established as a joint venture between the North and South Korean governments to allow South Korean companies to manufacture goods in the North. Financed and managed for the most part by South Korea, it was…
Read More
…area is home to the Kaesŏng Industrial Complex, an industrial park and duty-free trade facility established as a joint venture between the North and South Korean governments to allow South Korean companies to manufacture goods in the North. Financed and managed for the most part by South Korea, it was…
Read More

Moon Jae-In
Role in the Roh Moo-Hyun administration
…year, Moon helped inaugurate the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a duty-free trade zone and manufacturing complex just north of the DMZ that was jointly operated by the governments of North and South Korea. The Kaesong venture was one of the more prominent expressions of Roh’s strategy of engagement with the North,…
Read More
…year, Moon helped inaugurate the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a duty-free trade zone and manufacturing complex just north of the DMZ that was jointly operated by the governments of North and South Korea. The Kaesong venture was one of the more prominent expressions of Roh’s strategy of engagement with the North,…
Read More

North Korea
Relations with the South
…pertained to the joint-venture Kaesŏng Industrial Complex, although, in practice, little changed there. In March 2010 a South Korean warship, the Ch’ŏnan (Cheonan), exploded and sank in the waters of the Yellow Sea near Paengnyŏng (Baengnyeong) Island, close to the maritime border with North Korea. An international team of investigators…
Read More
…pertained to the joint-venture Kaesŏng Industrial Complex, although, in practice, little changed there. In March 2010 a South Korean warship, the Ch’ŏnan (Cheonan), exploded and sank in the waters of the Yellow Sea near Paengnyŏng (Baengnyeong) Island, close to the maritime border with North Korea. An international team of investigators…
Read More