The South Korea Unification Ministry said Sunday that South Korea will begin to prepare for the development of a 2.5-million-pyeong, or 8.25 square km, area in the inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong, a border city of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"The government will conduct a geological survey of the land in Kaesong for the second-stage construction of the industrial complex," the ministry said.

South Korea plans to build a 20-million-pyeong, or 66 square km, industrial base in Kaesong in three stages for South Korean companies by 2012.

If the complex is completed, it is expected to employ as many as half a million DPRK workers in about 2,000-3,000 South Korean factories.

The South Korean government had originally planned to launch the second-stage project last year, but the project has been suspended due to tensions caused by DPRK's missile and nuclear tests.

The Unification Ministry said it plans to parcel out a 530,000- pyeong (about 1.75 square km) lot for South Korean manufacturers late next month.

Currently, 11,160 DPRK workers are employed in 21 labor- internsive South Korean firms in Kaesong's inter-Korean industrial complex with an average wage of 60 U.S. dollars per capita each month, according to the ministry.

Source: Xinhua