Officials from the two Koreas are meeting for the third time this month to discuss how to restart a shuttered inter-Korean industrial park.
Seoul's Unification Ministry says Monday's talks are being held at the North Korean border town of Kaesong, where the factory complex is located.
In their previous talks, the two sides agreed on a desire to reopen the complex, but could not agree on how to proceed.
The Kaesong park has been closed since April, when North Korea pulled out its 53,000 workers as part of an angry response to international sanctions against its February nuclear test. South Korean businesses withdrew their manager and workers in early May.
Many analysts expect slow progress on the talks, as both sides have given indications they are far apart on a number of issues.
South Korean officials say they want assurances that operations at the complex will continue, even during future periods of heightened tension.
For its part, North Korea has failed to take responsibility for the closure of Kaesong, instead blaming unspecified South Korean provocation.
Although work at the center has been suspended before during times of heightened tensions, it had never been shut down completely since it was established in 2004.
The complex, which relies on South Korean know-how and cheap North Korean labor, was a key source of hard currency for the North's troubled economy.
Seoul's Unification Ministry says Monday's talks are being held at the North Korean border town of Kaesong, where the factory complex is located.
In their previous talks, the two sides agreed on a desire to reopen the complex, but could not agree on how to proceed.
The Kaesong park has been closed since April, when North Korea pulled out its 53,000 workers as part of an angry response to international sanctions against its February nuclear test. South Korean businesses withdrew their manager and workers in early May.
Many analysts expect slow progress on the talks, as both sides have given indications they are far apart on a number of issues.
South Korean officials say they want assurances that operations at the complex will continue, even during future periods of heightened tension.
For its part, North Korea has failed to take responsibility for the closure of Kaesong, instead blaming unspecified South Korean provocation.
Although work at the center has been suspended before during times of heightened tensions, it had never been shut down completely since it was established in 2004.
The complex, which relies on South Korean know-how and cheap North Korean labor, was a key source of hard currency for the North's troubled economy.
