Koreas to Talk at Kaesong Complex Thursday

South and North Korea will hold their second working-level meeting at the North’s Kaesong industrial complex Thursday, their first talks in more than 50 days.

Inter-Korean dialogue has been cut off after the two Koreas conveyed their own unilateral agenda on April 21.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said yesterday, “North Korea sent a notice signed by its Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau at 10 a.m. this morning on holding working-level talks at the inter-Korean economic cooperation office in the Kaesong business complex.”

“We sent a response notice accepting the offer in the afternoon.”

At next week’s meeting, the North is expected to inform the South of the existing rules and revisions in the complex that it unilaterally indicated in an official letter dated May 15. The South will demand the release of a Hyundai Asan Corp. employee detained in the complex and security guarantees for South Korean workers there.

A Seoul official said, “North Korea’s Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau says it cannot discuss the detained worker because of lack of authority on the matter, but the North only said this time that the agenda will be related to the Kaesong industrial complex.”

“There was no prior hint, however, that the North is willing to discuss the detained worker.”

Representing Seoul at the meeting will be Kim Young-tak, standing head of the ministry’s inter-Korean dialogue headquarters. Pyongyang will be led by Pak Chol Su, vice chief of the bureau.

kyle@donga.com