SEOUL: South Korea said talks with North Korea on reopening a jointly-run industrial estate ended without agreement yesterday, but the two sides agreed to meet again next week.
The South’s chief delegate Suh Ho said talks on restarting the Kaesong industrial complex’s mothballed factories would continue on July 15, after about four hours of meetings that started yesterday morning.
“We both agreed that the complex should be maintained and further developed,” Suh told reporters at the site just inside North Korea.
“The North argued that it should be resumed as soon as machinery checkups are finished, while we pointed out that the same situation could be repeated even after the reopening if there is no firm guarantee on preventing a recurrence (of the shutdown).
“So it was decided that this issue would be discussed at the next meeting,” he added. The talks follow months of cross-border friction and threats of war by Pyongyang after its February nuclear test attracted tougher UN sanctions, further squeezing its struggling economy.
Kaesong shut down three months ago as relations between the frosty neighbours hit crisis point.
But at a rare weekend meeting the North and South agreed in principle to reopen Kaesong, the last remaining symbol of cross-border reconciliation.
Earlier yesterday, a vehicle convoy of about 130 South Korean delegates, support staff and factory owners crossed at Paju over the heavily fortified demilitarised border zone that underscores the ever-present tension between two nations, which remain technically at war. Their 1950-53 conflict ended in a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.
The vehicles were outfitted with bright red flags, following border rules aimed at preventing an accidental shooting.
The once-buzzing industrial zone -- which had previously remained largely resilient to turbulence in relations -- had the air of a ghost town, according to pool reports from Kaesong.
Some South Korean factory owners, who visited their plants on the sidelines of the talks, described equipment that had rusted in the damp summer heat, and warned that the shutdown meant some business would be lost for good.
At the end last Sunday of gruelling 15-hour talks, the two sides said in a joint statement that they had agreed to let South Korean firms restart their plants at the complex when conditions are ripe.
The statement was seen as a crucial step in winding down the months of high tension.
AFP
