Kim and Moon want to resume joint Korean projects – but the US has to agree first

The North Korean leader’s offer to reopen the Kaesong industrial estate and resume tours to scenic Mount Kumgang has been welcomed by the South

But the Moon administration is constrained by layers of UN sanctions on Pyongyang, which the US is reluctant to remove without denuclearisation

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walk during a luncheon, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 21, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:15pm, 10 Jan 2019Updated: 1:38pm, 11 Jan 2019

Kim Jong-un’s offer to reopen a now-closed joint Korean industrial estate and allow tourism to a scenic North Korean location has been welcomed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, but the United States could yet scupper their intentions due to lingering sanctions on the North.

With inter-Korean relations warming, there has been an increase in calls to reopen the Kaesong industrial estate, which is located in the North but has received substantial investment from Seoul, as well as for the resumption of tours to the North’s Mount Kumgang.

Moon is eager to address this demand, but his government is constrained by layers of United Nations sanctions imposed on the North over its nuclear and missile programmes, which the US is reluctant to remove without denuclearisation.

“We welcome North Korea’s intention to resume their operation without conditions or compensation,” Moon said in his New Year address.

“My administration will cooperate with the international community including the United States to resolve the remaining issues such as international sanctions as soon as possible.”

When Moon and Kim met in Pyongyang in September for their third summit, they agreed to “normalise” the operations of Kaesong as well as the suspended Mount Kumgang tour programme “as soon as conditions are met”.