Inter-Korean economic cooperation is slowly eroding psychological barriers and longheld anxieties concerning business near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas.

That's the assessment of the New York Times, which recently reported on the success of LG Philips’ LCD industrial complex in the South Korean border city of Paju.

The U.S. daily said that political détente between the two countries was bearing economic fruit as South Korea's economic expansion washes away psychological barriers.

The paper cited an LG Philips worker as saying that if LG had invested in an area south of Seoul, it would have faced severe traffic congestion and exorbitant real estate costs.

The Times also pointed out that following the establishment of the LCD complex in Paju, the city has seen its civilian population double to some three-hundred thousand.

It added that three more industrial complexes would soon open near the DMZ, along with a new town capable of accommodating some one-hundred-15-thousand people.