By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

Telephone connection between South Korea and the inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong of North Korea is likely to be delayed until autumn due to export regulations of the United States.

``We should carry telecom equipment to Kaesong to connect the city to the South. But U.S. regulations banning exports of strategic products to the North draws back the process,’’ said a KT official, who asked to be identified only by his surname Park.

He predicted the cross-board phone calls to Kaesong would be possible as late as this autumn if the U.S. does not speed up the approval on the telecom equipment.

KT, South Korea’s biggest fixed-line operator, has been in charge of hooking up the country to Kaesong with the aim of completing the task in the first half of this year.

After setting the phone charge at 40 cents a minute between the South and Kaesong in late March, KT originally planned to open the telephone lines by May 31.

Yet, the export administration regulations (EAR) of the U.S. stand in the way as the country restricts exports of dual-use items, which can be converted for military purposes, to embargoed destinations including North Korea.

Under the policy, a license is required for virtually all exports of products using more than 10 percent of U.S. technology or components.

``To avoid the EAR, we tried to procure telecom equipment from European manufacturers like Ericsson, Alcatel and Siemens. But the hitch is that their products may cross the 10-percent threshold and for this reason they are hesitant,’’ Park said.

He added the European big names fear unauthorized exports of telecom gears to the North might arouse the ire of the U.S., which can prevent exports of their products to the U.S.

On the request of KT, the Southern government is currently in talks with the U.S. for the early authorization of the telecom equipment that is subject to the EAR.

Seoul has asked for an early conclusion of the negotiation and Commerce, Industry-Energy Minister Lee Hee-beom last month agreed with his U.S. counterpart David Sampson of deputy secretary of commerce, to accelerate the approval procedures.

However, Park said he cannot feel the effect of the agreement and hoped the authorization talks between the two nations may not be prolonged.

He said if the U.S. approval is complete, KT can start commercial telephone services between Kaesong and the South in about half a month because all the others are ready.

``Let’s say I have an electric fan. To get it going, all I need is electricity. But I cannot turn on the fan because I am not allowed to enter a room to plug it in,’’ Park said.

Kaesong Industrial Complex, located just north of the Demilitarized Zone, is now under development with the aim of completing it by 2007 in 66 million square meters to accommodate 300 companies.

The Kaesong complex is billed as one of the most positive fruits of the inter-Korean cooperation after the two countries were divided in the aftermath of the Korean War (1950-53).

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr