S. Korea to resume working-level talks with DPRK after holidays

SEOUL, Feb. 9 — The South Korean government plans to resume working-level talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on their joint industrial complex and cross-border tours after Lunar New Year holidays and the DPRK leader's birthday, local media reported Tuesday.

Seoul plans to hold an inter-Korean meeting on improving operations at the joint factory park located in the border town of Kaesong after holidays and is considering notifying the DPRK of its decision as early as later this week, Yonhap News Agency reported citing unnamed government sources.

South Korea and the DPRK earlier this month failed to narrow differences in their first bilateral talks this year over outstanding issues at the factory park, as Seoul suggested discussing improving transportation, communications and customs systems at future talks while Pyongyang insisted wage issues for its workers be included in agenda.

As to another working-level meeting on resuming suspended cross- border tours that ended without producing results a day ago, Seoul would not back down on its stance that a possible resumption of tours would come only after the two sides draw up measures to ensure safety for South Korean tourists and conduct a thorough on- spot probe into a fatal shooting incident that killed a South Korean female tourist and brought the tour to a halt in 2008, said Yonhap.

"We told the North Korean (DPRK) delegation yesterday that making progress in the talks — not merely returning to the negotiations table — is more important," an official at Seoul's Ministry of Unification was quoted as saying. (PNA/Xinhua)

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