The March pay period for workers at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex began on Friday with the two Koreas still at odds over North Korea’s demand for a wage hike.
 
Unification Ministry Spokesman Lim Byung-cheol told reporters that the pay period for March will end on April 20. He said so far no movements regarding the wage issue have been detected from the North.
 
Most of the South Korean companies are expected to pay workers on the last day of the 11-day payment period on April 20, after closely watching developments between the two Koreas.
 
On Tuesday, South Korea’s Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee and the North’s Central Guidance Bureau for Special Zone Development discussed the wage issue but failed to reach an agreement.
 
Lim said there have been no additional contacts or consultations since.
 
On February 24, the North unilaterally informed Seoul of its decision to raise the minimum monthly salary of North Korean workers by five-point-18 percent to 74 dollars beginning in March.