S.Korea hopes for fruitful results at Kaesong talks with DPRK

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S.Korea hopes for fruitful results at Kaesong talks with DPRK

(Xinhua) 15:28, August 09, 2013

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SEOUL, Aug. 9 -- South Korea voiced hopes for fruitful results at the upcoming talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on reopening the suspended Kaesong industrial complex, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Friday.

"It is anticipated that the upcoming Aug. 14 dialogue will draw a reasonable outcome to normalize the Kaesong industrial zone in a progressive way, while addressing the issue of preventing recurrence (of unilateral stoppage of the complex)," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-seok told a press briefing.

His comments came a day after Pyongyang sent the message of its anticipation for fruitful results at the seventh round of working- level talks scheduled for next Wednesday.

South Korea accepted the DPRK's offer to hold the dialogue at the joint industrial park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong. The two Koreas had held six rounds of fruitless talks since June amid differences over conditions for the normalization.

The Kaesong industrial complex, where 123 South Korean companies run factories, has been idle since early April when the DPRK pulled out 53,000 of its workers from the factory park in protest against the joint military drill between Seoul and Washington.

Boosting expectations for the successful dialogue, the DPRK said the two Koreas should work together to prevent recurrence of the factory park's suspension, which was persistently demanded by Seoul as a precondition for the normalization.

Obstacles remained as South Korea and the United States were scheduled to launch another joint annual military exercise called Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) on Aug. 19, which the DPRK has repeatedly condemned as preparation for a northward invasion.

Spokesman Kim said that the Kaesong industrial zone should be operated regardless of such political and military situations, stressing that the upcoming dialogue should be centered on reopening operations of the complex.

Touching on the report on the DPRK's expanded nuclear facilities, Kim said that South Korea and the international community have been urging Pyongyang to "dismantle nuclear program " with one voice, declining to comment on whether the report was true.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said Wednesday that the roof size of the building in Yongbyon, which houses centrifuges for uranium enrichment, has doubled since March based on an analysis of satellite photos.

The DPRK said in March that it would restart operations at the Yongbyon nuclear complex by refurbishing and re-operating the five- megawatt graphite moderated reactor that had been mothballed and disabled since October 2007 under an agreement reached at the six- party talks.

Pyongyang said that the restart would contribute to solving the problem of electricity shortage by developing its nuclear power industry in a self-sufficient way.