SOUTH KOREA

Daewoo Plants Ready to Go in North Korea: Daewoo, a leading South Korean conglomerate, said its joint venture textile factories in North Korea have been completed and will be ready to begin operations soon, pending government approval. The three factories to manufacture apparal and bags in North Korea’s western port city of Nampo would be the first joint venture project between rivals South and North Korea. The planned start-up assumes the South will proceed with plans to liberalize trade relations following a breakthrough in talks between the United States and North Korea on Pyongyang’s suspected nuclear weapons development program.