N. Korea accepts S. Korea's call for talks on joint industrial N. Korea accepts S. Korea's call for talks on joint industrial survey

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has accepted South Korea's call for talks
on ways to follow up on their joint survey of overseas industrial parks last
month, an official said Thursday.
A 10-member delegation from each side visited Chinese and Vietnamese industrial
complexes from Dec. 12-22 to explore ways to improve their joint management of a
factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong.
"We had proposed the talks, and North Korea notified us that it wants to hold
them to evaluate our trip to the areas," a Unification Ministry official said,
declining to be named.
The acceptance is the latest sign that North Korea, which has bolstered its
determination to raise the standard of living for its people this year, is moving
to improve ties with the South. The two sides remain technically at war after the
1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce.
The Kaesong venture arose from the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. Some 110
South Korean firms operate there with about 42,000 North Korean workers,
producing mostly labor-intensive goods such as electronics, clothing and
kitchenware.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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