Industrial Complex in North Korea Reopened

South Korean police officer stands guard on an empty load connecting the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) inside the North Korean border with the South's CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine), just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul.

South Korean managers and workers wait with their vehicles to leave for South and North Korea's joint Kaesong Industrial Complex at the customs, immigration and quarantine area of the Inter-Korean Transit Office near the border village of Panmunjom. The complex survived previous lows in relations, including North Korea's deadly artillery strike on a South Korean island in 2010. By the end of 2012, South Korean companies at Kaesong had produced a total of $2 billion worth of goods during the previous eight years.

A South Korean worker checks his truck before leaving for the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the customs, immigration and quarantine area of the Inter-Korean Transit Office. The park, established in 2004 during a period of warming ties between the Koreas, was considered a test case for reunification. It combined South Korean knowhow and technology with cheap North Korean labor.

A South Korean businessman carrying Choco-pie snacks and noodles, checks his car before leaving the customs, immigration and quarantine office area, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju. The park was the last major cross-border cooperation project before Pyongyang withdrew its 53,000 workers in early April to protest annual military drills between Seoul and Washington and alleged insults against the country's leadership. The other reconciliation projects had already long been mired in deadlock amid worsening ties between the Koreas.

South Koreans wait to exchange money in front of a bank before leaving for the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the Inter-Korean Transit Office. The park's shutdown was more than a blow to ties between the Koreas. It also hurt the 123 South Korean companies operating there, mostly small- and medium-sized labor-intensive industries.

South Korean businessmen and workers stand in a line to exchange won to U.S. dollar in front of a bank branch at the customs, immigration and quarantine office area. The South Korean government provided about 15 billion won in insurance payments to 46 of those companies but plans to take back the money because the park has resumed operations, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.

South Koreans hold South Korean won while waiting to exchange money in front of a bank before leaving for the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the Inter-Korean Transit Office. North and South Korea agreed last week to restart operations at the jointly run factory park that Pyongyang shut down in April during a torrent of threats, the latest sign of easing animosity between the rivals.

South Korean managers and workers wait to leave for Kaesong Industrial Complex at the Inter-Korean Transit Office near the border village of Panmunjom.

South Korean workers exchange won to U.S. dollar at a bank branch at the customs, immigration and quarantine office area, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.

Kim Kiwoong, center, the head of South Korea's working-level delegation leaves for the Kaesong Industrial Complex at the Inter-Korean Transit Office near the border village of Panmunjom.