The Unification Ministry said Monday it has decided to follow North Korea's decision to set a new time zone for the smooth operation of an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North where South Korean firms are operating.

North Korea began to push back its standard time by 30 minutes on Saturday in a bid to dispel what it called the vestige of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation.

Jeong Joon-hee, ministry spokesman, said that there has been no reported confusion so far at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North where South Korean companies are operating.

"It is very regrettable that the North pushed ahead with its move to push back the standard time," Jeong said at a regular press briefing.

Despite the North's unilateral move, Seoul plans to follow the North's new standard time to help the industrial complex smoothly operate, Jeong said. "South Korea plans to take necessary measures to ensure the seamless operation of the factory park."

A total of 124 South Korean small and medium-size enterprises operate factories at the park, which employs about 55,000 North Korean workers. The industrial complex, which opened in 2004, remains the most salient outcome of inter-Korean rapprochement.

The North's decision has pushed back all entries by South Korean businessmen into the complex by half an hour, which also leads them to start and finish later than in the past.

The two Koreas used to use identical standard time, set under Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea has voiced concerns that the time difference could cause some logistical problems, such as the timetables used at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

Seoul said that South Korea's choice of the present time zone is based on practical benefits, such as daylight savings, rather than colonial history. (Yonhap)