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S Korea says to consider higher-level talks with DPRK

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-03 16:05

SEOUL: South Korea is yet to consider higher-level meetings with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) though working-level inter-Korean talks on the joint complex so far haven't made any progress, the unification ministry said Friday.

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South Korea and the DPRK have held three rounds of working-level talks on the issue of the inter-Korean industrial complex since last month, but failed to make much progress.

As it is prevalently expected that the two sides are unlikely to reach a compromise in the near future, a higher-level dialogue with the DPRK has been suggested by local media and experts.

But South Korea's unification ministry said it is premature to consider a higher-level meeting as it is not a matter involving the format of negotiations, but a matter related to the general situation on relations between South Korea and the DPRK, ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said at a press briefing.

The two sides held a third round of working-level talks on Thursday, through which no fruitful results or follow-up meeting schedule were settled.

While South Korea maintained the issue of its worker detained in the DPRK for publicly denouncing the DPRK regime as its priority, the DPRK has constantly refused to release him as South Korea requests.

The DPRK, on the other hand, claimed that South Korea should raise wages for its workers in Kaesong and the land fee to $500 million.

The Kaesong complex, where 106 South Korean companies operate with some 40,000 DPRK workers, makes a variety of products, from electronics and watches to shoes and utensils.

The park, located in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, was jointly set up as a reconciliation project of the two sides.