Original version

BBC World Service Online

World Business Report

Factual: Money

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

World Business Report: Korean Tension Eases as Industrial Plant Reopens

16/09/2013

Korean Tension Eases as Industrial Plant Reopens

BBC World Service - World Business Report, Korean Tension Eases as Industrial Plant Reopens

Kaesong plant reopens in North Korea. Larry Summers no longer in running to be fed boss.

Tensions ease on the Korean peninsula as the Kaesong industrial zone reopens. And Larry Summers is no longer in the running to be the head of the US Federal Reserve.

An industrial zone called Kaesong is the last remaining area of co-operation between North and South Korea. The plant was shut down in April amid rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

That means the operations of hundreds of companies from the South have been closed, while thousands of workers from the North have had nothing to do.

On Monday, the park is reopening on a trial basis. We speak to our correspondent at Kaesong.

Plus, the man seen as the frontrunner for the job of head of the US Federal Reserve, former Treasury Secretary and Obama adviser Larry Summers, has pulled out of the race.

In a letter to President Obama, Mr Summers said his Congressional confirmation would be "acrimonious". Some Democrats and Republicans have said they were against Mr Summers getting the job.

Also on the programme, with a week to go until German elections, our reporter Theo Leggett has been to Cologne to find out how Germans perceive the state of their economy.

The World Bank is getting tougher on companies which have been found to have paid bribes, according to a report. We'll speak to a law firm based in the United Kingdom.

And finally, our regular contributor Lucy Kellaway is continuing her research into the history of the office. In her second weekly instalment she's been digging into that time-honoured saying, it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

World Business Report

Korean Tension Eases as Industrial Plant Reopens

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service