Inter-Korean Talks

North Should Release Southern Worker Immediately

South and North Korea are scheduled to resume working-level talks at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex on Thursday. Officials of the two sides will discuss terms of contracts on rent, wages and taxes at the joint industrial park. We hope the planned talks will help break the deadlock over the operation of the complex as well as ease escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula following a series of provocative actions by Pyongyang.

Inter-Korean ties were thrown into a deeper crisis since the North's April 5 test-firing of a long-range missile disguised as a satellite launch. Regrettably, it has continued to raise tensions by carrying out its second nuclear test on May 25. The communist country also plans to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from a newly built launch site in Dongchang-ri along the northwestern coast.

Against this backdrop, it is hard to expect much from the meeting of the South and North officials. It was really disappointing that the Kim Jong-il regime has already announced the unilateral cancellation of all contracts concerning the industrial complex. The North has also demanded that South Korean companies operating there leave the site unless they accept the new regulations the Stalinist country is trying to set one-sidedly.

It is apparent that the North's move is intended to sharply increase rent, salaries and taxes in a bid to extract more money from South Korean firms. But the impoverished and reclusive state must realize that any steep increase in operational costs might toll the death knell of the Gaeseong complex, the symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

There are reports that many Southern companies doing business in the site are considering moving their production lines to China and Southeast Asian countries due to fears about the North's irrational demands, worsening inter-Korean relations and geopolitical risks. The Gaeseong complex has drawn more than 100 South Korean firms making clothes, kitchenware, watches and other labor-intensive goods as it offers cheap labor, free land use and other incentives. There would be no reason for them to stay there if they can no longer enjoy those benefits.

In case of a potential shutdown of the industrial park, South Korean companies there could incur huge losses. Thus, the Seoul government has maintained its firm position that the problems related to the complex should be resolved through dialogue with Pyongyang. It does not want to see the collapse of the site. North Korea also has to see to it that a potential closure of the complex is detrimental to its economy. The park serves as a source of cash with about 40,000 North Koreans working for the South Korean firms.

Therefore, the North must refrain from putting forth reckless demand and using the complex as a lever for political maneuvering and brinkmanship tactics. Instead, it would be better to make realistic decisions to continue inter-Korean cooperation, move toward reconciliation and enjoy co-prosperity.

Last but not least, the North should immediately release a South Korean worker who has been detained for over two months for allegedly ``slandering'' the North Korean regime. We emphasize that personal safety and security is one of the foremost concerns for South Koreans working in the industrial park. Without resolving the security issue, it is almost impossible to maintain the operation of the joint complex. Now it is up to Pyongyang to decide whether to cooperate or not.