Seoul to prioritize detainee issue in upcoming inter-Korean talks

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- Securing the release of a South Korean worker detained
by the North will take precedence over all pending issues regarding the Kaesong
Industrial Complex in upcoming inter-Korean talks, a Seoul official said Friday.

The two Koreas are scheduled to meet next Friday to discuss changes to contract
terms governing the inter-Korean business park in the North's border town,
following Pyongyang's controversial demand for a 31-fold increase in land rent
and a four-fold increase in wages for North Korean workers.
The demand comes as the North is continuing to hold a South Korean worker
detained at the Kaesong complex on March 30. The worker, identified only by his
family name Yu, has been accused of criticizing the North's political system and
inciting a North Korean woman to defect.
"The issue of the detained worker is the most important agenda item that cannot
be separated from other pending issues on the Kaesong complex," said Lee
Jong-joo, spokeswoman for Seoul's Unification Ministry, at a press briefing.
"At the next talks, we will again focus on the detention issue. That's the
government's basic stance," she said.
At Thursday's talks, North Korean officials said only that the detained South
Korean worker was "doing well without any problems," refusing to offer details.
Regarding the North's latest demands, meanwhile, Seoul plans to meet with heads
of businesses operating in the joint park in the coming days to gauge their
opinions, she said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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