South Korea said Friday it has obtained global certifications for the infrastructure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in a meaningful step toward the globalization of the joint venture with North Korea.
   
The management committee of the complex secured quality management certifications from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for an internal bus operating system as well as environmental management certification for a water purification and drainage service, according to the unification ministry.
  
The committee sought the ISO certifications as part of efforts to help globalize the industrial park in North Korea's border town and draw foreign investment, it said.
  
"The push for the ISO certifications was the first attempt to lay the systemic grounds for the globalization of the Kaesong Industrial Complex," the ministry's spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said. "It provided a chance for the stable operation of the complex."
   
The government also plans to seek ISO certifications for an enterprise support system and a complex operating system, he added.
   
The Kaesong complex opened in the early 2000s as a result of inter-Korean reconciliation. 
   
More than 120 South Korean firms employ around 52,000 North Korean workers there. (Yonhap)