S. Korea to propose talks with N. Korea on Kaesong wages this week

South Korea will propose talks with a North Korean agency in charge of an inter-Korean industrial complex early this week to resolve disputes over wages for the North’s workers, officials said Sunday.

In February, Pyongyang announced unilaterally that it will raise the minimum wage for its workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex by 5.18 percent to US$74 per month starting in March.

The industrial complex opened in the early 2000s in the North’s border city of Kaesong, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation. It has served as a major revenue source for the cash-strapped communist country.

As the North has so far spurned the South’s call for government-level dialogue, Seoul has sought to hold the talks between the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee, a quasi-government organization, and Pyongyang’s Central Special Development Guidance Bureau.

“Early this week, we plan to propose the wage talks to the North through the secretariat of the committee,” a Seoul official said.

Seoul’s efforts for the talks have gained urgency as its 124 firms will begin to pay March wages for the about 53,000 North Korean workers at the industrial park for about 10 days starting Friday.

The ministry handling unification affairs has called on the firms not to raise the wage level before any formal agreement.

The Seoul government said that it will explore every way to minimize damage for the firms, including financial compensation in case they are forced to leave the Kaesong zone. (Yonhap)