A leading lawmaker says the United States will not unilaterally apply international labor rules to workers at the Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea.

The chairman of the National Assembly's Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee Kim Won-woong said that under their bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul and Washington agreed not to apply international labor standards to the Gaesong workers because North Korea is not a member of the International Labor Organization.

He quoted documents from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry in Seoul as saying South Korea and the U.S. agreed to consider average wages and the labor environment for North Korean workers at other regions when determining labor standards at the complex.

Kim said workers at the labor rules at the complex are better than those of North Korea.

He said Gaesong will meet the requirements for designation as an outward processing zone under the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement if North Korea makes progress in its nuclear dismantlement and labor standards.