DHAKA: South Korean workers have returned to the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea, five months after work was halted amid high political tension.

Trucks and cars began crossing the border into North Korea at exactly 08:00 (23:00 GMT Sunday).

More than 800 South Koreans were due to cross to the jointly-run centre for what is being called a trial restart.

The zone, just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories that employ more than 50,000 North Koreans.

It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.

But the North withdrew all of its workers in April, as ties between the two Koreas deteriorated in the wake of Pyongyang’s 12 February nuclear test.

Reopening the complex has taken months of negotiation, reports the BBC.

BDST: 1740 HRS, SEPT 16, 2013
RoR/RK