SEJONG (Yonhap) ― The daily volume of goods moving in and out of the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong has spiked over the past years, customs data showed Wednesday.

The joint industrial park opened in 2004 in the North Korean border city as a symbol of cross-border reconciliation. It was designed to combine cheap North Korean labor with South Korean capital and technology.

According to the data provided by the Korea Customs Service, the daily average volume of goods moving in and out of the industrial park reached 840 tons this year. This is more than a fourfold rise from 198 tons in 2006, when official data started to be compiled.

The data also showed that the industrial park houses 125 labor-intensive South Korean plants where about 53,000 employees, including North Koreans, are working.

The figures compare with 2004, when the industrial park was launched. At the time, 18 companies were operating there with about 3,000 people working at the plants.