LOC12:54
09:54 GMT
TOKYO, May 21 (KUNA) -- South Korea urged North Korea Tuesday to accept
working-level talks that could help normalize operations of a suspended
inter-Korean industrial complex in the North, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex has been shut down since early April when
Pyongyang withdrew all of its workers from the 123 South Korean companies
there, citing the South's provocations against the North.
"To build trust related to the Kaesong Industrial Complex, there needs to
be an effort to allow the local companies to retrieve production materials and
finished goods which requires working-level talks," South Korean Unification
Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk was quoted as telling a press briefing in
Seoul.
From April 11 onward, Seoul has persistently asked the North to come to the
negotiating table to discuss outstanding issues, but has received no response.
Kim made clear that it was the North that pulled all of its workers from the
complex, effectively bringing operations at the complex to a halt.
Kim stressed Pyongyang's attempt to blame the South for the temporary
closure is unjust.
The factory park has been idling since April 9, when North Korea withdrew
all of its 53,000 workers from the 123 South Korean factories operating in the
zone. The current crisis marks the most serious challenge to the complex since
it started operations in late 2004.(end)
mk.wsa
KUNA 211254 May 13NNNN