South Korea says narrowing differences with North on talks over joint

venture
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, UPDATES the story with ministry briefing)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is narrowing differences with the North in
setting up government-level talks over a joint industrial complex, a spokesperson
said Thursday, as Seoul prepares for a bumpy road ahead amid damaged political
relations.
The Seoul government has yet to officially respond to North Korea's proposal on
April 21 to open negotiations over operations of the joint complex in the North.
Sources say North Korea sent a document on Monday, complaining of Seoul's
procrastination and demanding the negotiations start on Wednesday. Seoul rejected
the offer to take more time for preparations, they said, requesting anonymity.
Lee Jong-joo, spokeswoman for the Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean
talks, said the government could not confirm North Korea's latest demand, as
"discussions are still underway."
"The two sides are in the process of exchanging positions and narrowing
differences to set up the next inter-Korean dialogue," Lee said in a briefing.
In the first round of talks that lasted only 22 minutes, North Korea demanded
South Koreans firms raise wages for North Korean employees in Kaesong and also
start paying for land use from next year, four years ahead of schedule.
The April 21 talks were the first government-level meeting since President Lee
Myung-bak took office in February last year.
A ministry official handling the Kaesong venture said bickering over the date for
the meeting is not unusual prior to the main talks.
"Offering a date and rejecting it could be a kind of tug of war to gain an edge
in the next round of the talks," the official said, requesting anonymity.
North Korea gave Seoul little time to consider, he said, as it made the proposal
just two days before the offered date.
Since the last talks, South Korea has been gauging the opinion of firms operating
in Kaesong. Seoul appears to be walking a tight rope between trying to revive
political relations and ensuring the continued viability of the Kaesong complex.
Concerns run high that North Korea may not intend to negotiate, but instead force
Seoul to either accept its demands or shut down the joint park.
Ministry sources said Seoul may officially reply to Pyongyang as early as this
week, with an offer to hold the talks next week.
South Korea's main concern is a Hyundai Asan Corp. employee who has been detained
in Kaesong since March 30 for allegedly criticizing North Korea's political
system. North Korea refused to discuss the issue, saying the talks are meant to
cover issues relevant solely to the industrial park.
The Kaesong park, just an hour's drive from Seoul, opened in late 2004 as an
outcome of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000 that paved the way for
reconciliatory exchanges. More than 100 South Korean firms operate there,
producing clothes, utensils, electronic equipment and other labor-intensive
products with about 39,000 North Korean workers.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)