The number of North Koreans working for South Korean firms at the inter-Korean industrial complex at Gaesong, North Korea, has topped ten-thousand.

The complex management committee says three companies hired two-hundred-40 new workers Tuesday for a total employment of ten-thousand-93.

The milestone comes three-and-a-half years after construction of the complex began in June 2003. The number of workers passed a thousand in late 2004 and five-thousand last October.

Employment at Gaesong will likely rise further as some of the 15 firms currently operating in the complex's pilot section are expanding while other companies will soon start operations in the main complex.