Koreas fail to set up second talks amid dispute over detained worker

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- Seoul officials were returning home Friday after days of unsuccessful negotiations in North Korea over a second round of official talks, as Pyongyang refused to discuss a detained South Korean worker, a spokesman said.

"There has been no progress," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said.
"They are scheduled to return later in the afternoon."
North Korea proposed government-level talks last month to discuss issues related
to an industrial complex jointly run with South Korea in the North's border town
of Kaesong. In the first round on April 21, North Korea demanded wage hikes and
contract revisions.
A three-member delegation traveled to Kaesong on Tuesday to set up the second
round. Of major concern for South Korea is the detained employee of Hyundai Asan
Corp., the developer of the joint park, who was arrested on March 30 on charges
of criticizing North Korea's political system.
"North Korean officials (in the discussions) said they were not authorized to
discuss the detention issue," Kim said.
South Korea proposed Friday as the date for the talks, but North Korea rejected
the date, Kim said. The tussling over the date was in fact a tug of war over the
agenda, he added.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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