ROK, DPRK start 6th talks on Kaesong complex

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea started the sixth round of working-level talks on Thursday on reopening a joint industrial park in DPRK's border town of Kaesong that has been suspended for more than three months.

Three-member delegations from both sides began the talks at 10 am local time as scheduled in Kaesong, just north of the heavily armed border.

Earlier this month, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed in principle to normalize operations of the joint industrial zone, but they have been at odds over how to reopen the complex in the follow-up talks amid differences that blocked the normalization.

Seoul has called on Pyongyang to take responsibility for its unilateral shutdown of the industrial park in April and provide a clear assurance to prevent recurrence of such an incident. The success of the ongoing talks will depend on whether Pyongyang accepts such proposal.

In the latest round of negotiations, the DPRK showed positive stance on Seoul's another proposal to develop the Kaesong industrial complex into an international factory park.

"We will engage ourselves in the dialogue with posture and mind that incidents worrying our people must never happen again regarding the Kaesong complex issue," Kim Kiwoong, Seoul's top delegate and director-general of the Unification Ministry's inter-Korean district support directorate, told reporters before leaving for Kaesong.