North Korean laborers at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex may skip out on work unless the South raises wages.
 
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) aired a statement from the Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau on Wednesday. 

The statement said the Gaeseong complex is a special economic zone where businesses operate, adding South Korean authorities have no reason to interfere.
 
The bureau's spokesperson noted that although output from Gaeseong has grown some thirtyfold in the last ten years, the minimum wage has only increased one-point-five times. The spokesperson added it was wrong for the South to block a small increase in wages.
 
The statement highlighted that the late payment of wages is considered a criminal case internationally, stressing that laborers cannot work at companies that don't pay wages on time.
 
The statement is the first time in two months that the North has referred to its demands for a wage increase at the industrial park since the Gaeseong bureau emphasized the legitimacy of a wage increase through North Korea's main propaganda Web site, Uriminzokkiri, on March 12.