S. Korea seeks investment safety in North

To provide a systemic safety net for inter-Korean economic cooperation, a working-level talk between officials in the government¡¯s economic agencies will be held Sept. 25 and 26 at the executive office of the inter-Korean talks in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.

The two Koreas are expected to reach agreements in four areas: guarantee on investments, preclusion of double taxation, dispute resolution procedure, and transaction settlement. These are the first such comprehensive talks for inter-Korean economic cooperation at a working level in 15 years. The last such talks were held in November 1985 in Panmunjeom.

South Korea¡¯s negotiators will be headed by deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economy Lee Keun-Kyoung and two others from the Ministry of Unification and Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.

North Korea's three-member team will be led by chairman of the National Economic Cooperation Federation Jong Un-Op. Although the NECF is an enterprise in North Korea, it has been utilized as the liaison by the economic agencies of the two Koreas. The three Northern representatives, along with their 12-member entourage including reporters, arrived Sunday at Kimpo International Airport via Beijing.

For the current round of talks, South Korea will eagerly pursue the four areas of inter-Korean economic cooperation, especially the establishment of a policy considered absolutely necessary for the involvement of the private companies for inter-Korea business ventures. South Korean business circles have strongly requested that the South Korean government succeed in obtaining a safety net to guarantee their investments in North Korea.

Kwon Soon-Hwal shkwon@donga.com