A group of executives from South Korean firms doing business in China will visit an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea next week for an investor fair, a business lobby group in Beijing said Wednesday.

The visit by some 20 South Korean businessmen in China to the Kaesong Industrial Complex, just north of the heavily fortified border between South and North Korea, is aimed at studying how to sell duty-free goods from the industrial zone in China under a bilateral free trade pact between Seoul and Beijing, the Korea Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement.

The South Korea-China free trade deal, which has yet to be ratified, will cover goods produced at the Kaesong complex, which was opened in 2004 as a landmark symbol of rapprochement between South and North Korea. About 120 South Korean firms employ some 53,000 North Korean workers there.

The investor fair will be held on Oct. 29 at the complex in North Korea.

Shin Hae-jin, head of the KCCC, said, "The Kaesong Industrial Complex is an attractive investment destination, given its low-cost and high-efficiency manufacturing.

"If the Korea-China free trade agreement goes into effect, goods from the Kaesong Industrial Complex will have price competitiveness in the Chinese market," Shin added.

Hundreds of goods produced at the complex, such as electric components and clothing, will benefit from the free trade deal between South Korea and China. (Yonhap)