ID :
57822
Tue, 04/28/2009 - 06:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/57822
The shortlink copeid
Seoul to propose holding talks with N. Korea next week: sources
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will propose holding inter-Korean talks next week on a troubled joint industrial park project in North Korea, informed sources said Monday.
The talks will be a follow-up to a meeting held last week in Kaesong, where the
communist North demanded negotiations on wage increases for North Korean workers
there and an overall review of contracts.
"The government will likely send its proposal this week," a source said, asking
not to be identified.
Another source said Seoul will likely propose the talks be held next Thursday.
"It depends on whether North Korea will agree to our proposal, but it (the
meeting) will likely be held after Children's Day," which falls on Tuesday, the
source said.
Officials here had earlier said Seoul was considering holding a "preliminary
meeting" this week with North Korea to discuss the agenda for the next round of
talks, as well as the date.
However, an official later said the government could delay sending its proposal
until next week, citing the importance of talks.
Last week's talks between the two Koreas, the first in over a year, were proposed
by the North, which said it had an "important notice" for the South regarding the
Kaesong complex.
Pyongyang had cut off all official dialogue with Seoul since the Lee Myung-bak
administration was inaugurated 14 months ago, citing what it called Seoul's
hostility toward the North.
"(The ministry) will continue to listen to the opinions of businesses,
organizations and related government offices on the Kaesong industrial complex
this week to come up with elaborate countermeasures" against North Korea's
demands, Lee Jong-joo, a spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry, told
reporters.
Kim Ho-nyon, the ministry's main spokesman, later said no concrete plan has been
finalized.
At last week's meeting, Pyongyang demanded Seoul set a date for the next round of
talks at the earliest date possible, according to officials here.
North Korea has said the talks will focus only on issues related to the Kaesong
industrial complex, such as its demand that South Korean firms start paying land
use fees from 2010 instead of 2014, as earlier agreed.
Seoul, however, says the two Koreas must also discuss other inter-Korean issues,
including the release of a South Korean worker detained at the Kaesong industrial
park.
The worker, said to be an engineer in his 40s, was detained on March 30 after
being accused of criticizing the North's communist regime and trying to incite a
female North Korean to defect to the South.
The North has denied access to the South Korean, who works for Hyundai Asan, the
South Korean developer and operator of the Kaesong complex.
bdk@yna.co.kr
hkim@yna.co.kr
The talks will be a follow-up to a meeting held last week in Kaesong, where the
communist North demanded negotiations on wage increases for North Korean workers
there and an overall review of contracts.
"The government will likely send its proposal this week," a source said, asking
not to be identified.
Another source said Seoul will likely propose the talks be held next Thursday.
"It depends on whether North Korea will agree to our proposal, but it (the
meeting) will likely be held after Children's Day," which falls on Tuesday, the
source said.
Officials here had earlier said Seoul was considering holding a "preliminary
meeting" this week with North Korea to discuss the agenda for the next round of
talks, as well as the date.
However, an official later said the government could delay sending its proposal
until next week, citing the importance of talks.
Last week's talks between the two Koreas, the first in over a year, were proposed
by the North, which said it had an "important notice" for the South regarding the
Kaesong complex.
Pyongyang had cut off all official dialogue with Seoul since the Lee Myung-bak
administration was inaugurated 14 months ago, citing what it called Seoul's
hostility toward the North.
"(The ministry) will continue to listen to the opinions of businesses,
organizations and related government offices on the Kaesong industrial complex
this week to come up with elaborate countermeasures" against North Korea's
demands, Lee Jong-joo, a spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry, told
reporters.
Kim Ho-nyon, the ministry's main spokesman, later said no concrete plan has been
finalized.
At last week's meeting, Pyongyang demanded Seoul set a date for the next round of
talks at the earliest date possible, according to officials here.
North Korea has said the talks will focus only on issues related to the Kaesong
industrial complex, such as its demand that South Korean firms start paying land
use fees from 2010 instead of 2014, as earlier agreed.
Seoul, however, says the two Koreas must also discuss other inter-Korean issues,
including the release of a South Korean worker detained at the Kaesong industrial
park.
The worker, said to be an engineer in his 40s, was detained on March 30 after
being accused of criticizing the North's communist regime and trying to incite a
female North Korean to defect to the South.
The North has denied access to the South Korean, who works for Hyundai Asan, the
South Korean developer and operator of the Kaesong complex.
bdk@yna.co.kr
hkim@yna.co.kr
