SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North and South Korea held a new round of talks today on their troubled joint industrial complex, including Seoul's demand that a detained South Korean worker be freed, though there was no apparent progress.
The two sides, meeting in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, were discussing whether to hold an afternoon session.
The talks took place amid conflicting reports about possible upcoming North Korean missile launches, as well as scheduled talks in Beijing between the United States and China on implementing new U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.
Philip Goldberg, who is in charge of coordinating the implementation of sanctions against the North, was to meet with Chinese officials today to discuss the U.N. sanctions, the U.S. Embassy said.
As relations with South Korea have deteriorated, the North has halted all key joint projects except for the South Korean-run complex at Kaesong, a prominent symbol of reconciliation. The project combines the South's technology and management expertise with the North's cheap labor.
But its viability has come under question in recent months as North Korea refused to release the South Korean worker, identified as Yu Song-jin, detained in March for allegedly denouncing Pyongyang's political system. The North also is demanding a massive increase in payments and rent at the industrial park.
The prospects for any significant progress were slim because the two Koreas remained far apart on key issues. The North has repeatedly rejected Seoul's calls for Yu's freedom during three previous rounds of talks.