A National Assembly committee on Friday approved a bill aimed at legalizing financial and other support for South Korean companies operating at an inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea.

The bill was passed by the National Assembly's Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee and has been sent to a legislation committee for further review.

The bill would provide South Korean small- and medium-sized firms doing business in the Gaesong Industrial Complex with state subsidies and other benefits equal to firms operating in the South. The benefits will also include protection under domestic labor laws for the 380 South Korean employees working there.

The South Korean-built complex is one of the key achievements of the historic inter-Korean summit of 2000, which sparked a series of cross-border projects. More than 20 South Korean clothing and other kinds of factories are currently up and running at the complex, employing over 11,100 skilled North Korean workers.