ROK urges DPRK to resume Kaesong talks

SEOUL - South Korea's Unification Ministry urged Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday to resume talks on normalizing operations of the Kaesong industrial park, as DPRK hasn't responded to South Korea's final talks offer yet.

"If North Korea (DPRK) really wants to solve the Kaesong problem and regards the joint industrial zone as a touchstone for inter-Korean relations, it should show its sincere attitude and act instead of keeping silence," a spokesman for the ministry said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

"South Korean people have reached their patience limit," the spokesman said.

His remarks came a week after Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl- jae proposed the final talks offer to DPRK on restarting the Kaesong complex. Ryoo warned it will make a grave decision unless DPRK gives a clear answer on measures to prevent recurrence of its unilateral shutdown of the complex.

Seoul and Pyongyang have held six rounds of talks on reopening Kaesong complex since June. However, the sixth round of talks eventually broke down at the end of last month amid differences on conditions for the normalization of the Kaesong industry.  

Operations of 123 South Korean companies in the industrial complex in DPRK's border town of Kaesong have been suspended for over three months after Pyongyang pulled out 53,000 DPRK workers from the industrial zone.

The inter-Korean industrial zone, launched in late 2004 and jointly managed by South Korea and DPRK, has been one of the key symbols of economic cooperation between the two countries.