SEOUL — South Korea on Thursday proposed talks with the North over reopening a jointly run industrial park, its latest attempt at reconciliation following a period earlier this year during which the two Koreas cut nearly all ties.
The South’s offer for what it called “working-level” talks comes three weeks after Pyongyang and Seoul canceled a high-level meeting, unable to agree on the negotiators who would attend. As tensions have eased over the last three months, both nations have shown interest in dialogue, but they’ve met only once, for a contentious, 17-hour sit-down between mid-level bureaucrats.
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The North did not immediately reply to the offer, which called for talks Saturday at a powder-blue hut straddling the demilitarized border separating the two Koreas.
The talks, if held, would be of limited scope, focusing on the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a jointly-operated park six miles north of the border. The complex has been shuttered since early April when the North banned South Koreans from entering the site and pulled out its own 53,000 workers.
Kaesong opened in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, marrying cheap North Korean labor with small- and medium-sized South Korean companies. But many executives from those companies say they’re giving up hope of resuming operations.
The Joongang Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, reported that 46 of the 123 companies at Kaesong want to remove all their materials from the complex and relocate to another country — either in South Korea or elsewhere in Asia. Some executives fear their machinery will become damaged from humidity or rain.
The North on Wednesday said it would allow South Korean business owners into the complex to check on their equipment. But South Korea so far has not allowed those owners to leave for Kaesong, saying the two governments must first work out their differences.
“Seoul’s stance remains consistent and centers on government authorities resolving all outstanding issues through dialogue,” the South Korean Ministry of Unification said in a statement.
The South’s offer for what it called “working-level” talks comes three weeks after Pyongyang and Seoul canceled a high-level meeting, unable to agree on the negotiators who would attend. As tensions have eased over the last three months, both nations have shown interest in dialogue, but they’ve met only once, for a contentious, 17-hour sit-down between mid-level bureaucrats.
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Abigail Hauslohner, William Booth and Sharaf al-Hourani A year after becoming Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, Morsi’s aides say he is under house arrest.
Washington Post staff President says the United States is “deeply concerned” by the military’s ouster of President Morsi.
Liz Sly Islamist movements have been the biggest beneficiaries of the upheaval unleashed by the Arab Spring revolts.
Michael Birnbaum A German official suggested that citizens concerned about privacy stop using U.S. Internet firms’ services.
William Booth and Amro Hassan Deep divide in rival crowds as Morsi backers decry “coup” and opponents laud new “popular uprising.”
The North did not immediately reply to the offer, which called for talks Saturday at a powder-blue hut straddling the demilitarized border separating the two Koreas.
The talks, if held, would be of limited scope, focusing on the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a jointly-operated park six miles north of the border. The complex has been shuttered since early April when the North banned South Koreans from entering the site and pulled out its own 53,000 workers.
Kaesong opened in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, marrying cheap North Korean labor with small- and medium-sized South Korean companies. But many executives from those companies say they’re giving up hope of resuming operations.
The Joongang Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, reported that 46 of the 123 companies at Kaesong want to remove all their materials from the complex and relocate to another country — either in South Korea or elsewhere in Asia. Some executives fear their machinery will become damaged from humidity or rain.
The North on Wednesday said it would allow South Korean business owners into the complex to check on their equipment. But South Korea so far has not allowed those owners to leave for Kaesong, saying the two governments must first work out their differences.
“Seoul’s stance remains consistent and centers on government authorities resolving all outstanding issues through dialogue,” the South Korean Ministry of Unification said in a statement.