Asia-Pacific

DPRK proposes working-level military talks: S.Korea

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-22 20:34

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has proposed working-level military talks over the joint industrial complex in the border town of Kaesong on Jan. 26, the government said Friday.

"The DPRK suggested Friday afternoon discussing transportation, communication and customs system at the industrial park jointly managed by the two Koreas to solve the pending issues as soon as possible," Seoul's Ministry of Unification said in a press release.

The proposal comes shortly after the two sides wrapped up the first bilateral talks of the year on improving operations at the industrial park, with another round of such talks slated to be held on Feb. 1, which helped clear doubts that threats Pyongyang recently issued against Seoul might dampen the budding mood for dialogue.

In the previous working-level meeting, the two sides evaluated their joint industrial survey conducted in Vietnam and China last December and discussed improving operations at their industrial complex, which Seoul's Ministry of Unification said was held in a "serious and businesslike" mood.

But the discussions still left unbridged gap between the two sides on wage issues, as the DPRK insisted wage issues be included in the agenda, which South Korea believes is not the issue to be decided at the government level, according to the head of the South Korean delegation, Kim Young-tak.

The Kaesong industrial park, which is under the joint management of the two Koreas, has been one of the key symbols of economic cooperation between the two countries, though worsening ties between the two have occasionally put operations there in danger.

Currently, some 110 South Korean companies are based in the complex, employing about 42,000 workers from the DPRK mostly producing labor-intensive goods.