North Korea proposes talks on Kaesong park

North Korea proposed Wednesday that the two Koreas hold another round of talks on August 14 aimed at normalizing a joint industrial complex that has been shuttered since early April, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported. The offer, made by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, comes more than a week after Seoul demanded "final talks" to resolve all outstanding issues surrounding operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The latest proposal, carried by the Korean Central News Agency and monitored in Seoul, said the two Koreas should work together to prevent another work stoppage, like the one that occurred in early April. Pyongyang also offered safe passage to all South Koreans entering the complex, according to the report. It added that the temporary ban on operations announced by the North on April 8 will be lifted. The committee then said that the South should accept the talks offer to resolve differences through dialogue. The factory park has been idling since April 9, when North Korea withdrew all of its 53,000 workers from the 123 South Korean factories operating in the zone. The current crisis marks the most serious challenge to the complex since it started operations in late 2004.