ID :
57003
Thu, 04/23/2009 - 11:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/57003
The shortlink copeid
Seoul mulls date for next talks at N. Korea's request
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will likely meet with North Korea in the near future for another set of talks on a joint industrial project but has not decided on a date despite Pyongyang's request for a quick followup, an official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.
The next talks, if held, will be a resumption of a meeting Tuesday in the North's
border town Kaesong, where the joint complex is located, during which Pyongyang
demanded the two Koreas renegotiate wages for North Korean workers there. The
North also said it would start charging land use fees for South Korean firms in
Kaesong from next year instead of 2014 as earlier agreed.
"North Korean delegates at the talks demanded we give them a date for the next
round of talks on the Kaesong project as soon as possible," the Cheong Wa Dae
official said on condition of anonymity.
Seoul offered a counter-proposal that the two sides hold formal governmental
talks to discuss not only the joint economic project but other issues that
concern the two Koreas. Pyongyang rejected the idea and also refused to accept an
official document from Seoul demanding the immediate release of a South Korean
worker detained at Kaesong since March 30. The employee, an engineer from Hyundai
Asan, which operates the industrial park, is accused of criticizing the North's
political system and encouraging a North Korean worker to defect.
Officials at the presidential office said the government will likely accept the
North Korea-proposed talks on the Kaesong complex, which they see as technically
state-level dialogue since the delegations are led by government officials.
"We are still trying to figure out whether it really is money they (North Korea)
are after, or if they have other hidden agendas," an official told Yonhap News
Agency, asking not to be identified.
"We will first have to see what their real demands are before we can decide what
to do," he added.
Seoul had expected that Pyongyang would not jeopardize the Kaesong complex, which
since its opening in 2005 has earned the impoverished nation millions of dollars.
Unification Ministry data shows the South Korean firms paid US$26 million in
wages to North Korean workers at the complex last year, funds which were
deposited into North Korean government bank accounts.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said the North Korean delegates to the Kaesong meeting
did not provide any reason or justification for their demands, adding they did
not appear to have the authority to do so.
SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will likely meet with North Korea in the near future for another set of talks on a joint industrial project but has not decided on a date despite Pyongyang's request for a quick followup, an official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.
The next talks, if held, will be a resumption of a meeting Tuesday in the North's
border town Kaesong, where the joint complex is located, during which Pyongyang
demanded the two Koreas renegotiate wages for North Korean workers there. The
North also said it would start charging land use fees for South Korean firms in
Kaesong from next year instead of 2014 as earlier agreed.
"North Korean delegates at the talks demanded we give them a date for the next
round of talks on the Kaesong project as soon as possible," the Cheong Wa Dae
official said on condition of anonymity.
Seoul offered a counter-proposal that the two sides hold formal governmental
talks to discuss not only the joint economic project but other issues that
concern the two Koreas. Pyongyang rejected the idea and also refused to accept an
official document from Seoul demanding the immediate release of a South Korean
worker detained at Kaesong since March 30. The employee, an engineer from Hyundai
Asan, which operates the industrial park, is accused of criticizing the North's
political system and encouraging a North Korean worker to defect.
Officials at the presidential office said the government will likely accept the
North Korea-proposed talks on the Kaesong complex, which they see as technically
state-level dialogue since the delegations are led by government officials.
"We are still trying to figure out whether it really is money they (North Korea)
are after, or if they have other hidden agendas," an official told Yonhap News
Agency, asking not to be identified.
"We will first have to see what their real demands are before we can decide what
to do," he added.
Seoul had expected that Pyongyang would not jeopardize the Kaesong complex, which
since its opening in 2005 has earned the impoverished nation millions of dollars.
Unification Ministry data shows the South Korean firms paid US$26 million in
wages to North Korean workers at the complex last year, funds which were
deposited into North Korean government bank accounts.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said the North Korean delegates to the Kaesong meeting
did not provide any reason or justification for their demands, adding they did
not appear to have the authority to do so.
