(VOVworld) – A round of expert-level talks between North and South Korea on operations at the Kaesong joint industrial complex will take place on Wednesday. Although the two countries have demonstrated their good will to resume the complex’s operations, conditions for revising this symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation remain undetermined. Hong Van comments:

Kaesong joint industrial complex

It is obvious that neither side will benefit from halted operations at the Kaesong complex. The complex, fully funded by the Republic of Korea with a total investment of 900 million USD, has generated jobs for approximately 53,000 workers of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The decision to close the complex in April has paralyzed trade between the two countries, causing a loss of nearly 1 billion USD to the 100 South Korean companies there.

A fourth round of talks was proposed after the failure of the third round of talks on Monday, a result of the two blaming one another for halting the complex’s operations and their differences on how to resume operations. Seoul has asked Pyongyang to admit responsibility for losses to its companies and to guarantee that there will not be any similar scenario in the future. Seoul also proposed that Kaesong be developed into an international industrial complex by allowing foreign companies to invest here. North Korea’s Chief negotiator Park Chol-su blamed complex’s closure on joint military maneuvers by South Korea and the US. North Korean media have called on Seoul to change its policies in order to put an end to the stagnation over the fate of the complex.

The public anticipated that negotiations would bring about a decisive step in inter-Korean cooperation. However, the failures of the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds of negotiations on July 10^th and July 15^th have sparked fears of a similar outcome at the next round of talks. Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher from Seoul National University, says the negotiations will be a long process as both sides are trying to gain a superior position. Kim Yong-Hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University says the gap between the two Koreas is considerable and both sides are unlikely to find a shared viewpoint.

Although negotiations have made some progress, more concessions need to be made. Otherwise, their efforts to improve bilateral relations will be in vain.