Some companies operating in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex paid March wages on Monday, despite government opposition.
 
A Ministry of Unification official said Monday that three companies paid their March wages after signing agreements promising pay increases at a later date. The official said sanctions against those companies are inevitable.
 
Amid the ongoing dispute over the North's demands for wage increases, the North has been trying to persuade South Korean companies to sign the agreements, which the South Korean government has called unacceptable.
 
Representatives from companies operating in the complex who met with North Korean Gaeseong officials on Monday said the North has agreed to extend the March payment deadline until this weekend without charging late fees. The deadline had initially been Monday.
 
However, the government said the North has only agreed to consider extending the deadline and that it has yet to be confirmed.
 
Although most companies let the payment deadline pass without paying wages, laborers at the complex are said to be working as usual without resistance.