韩朝就开城工业园区工薪问题举行会谈

North and South Korea officials hold talks Thursday aimed at resolving a protracted wage dispute at a jointly run factory complex.

A South Korean delegation left early Thursday for the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which lies on the North Korean side of the countries\' tense border.

Lee Sang-min, head of the Seoul delegation, said it will be the first meeting since June for the joint commission in charge of running the complex.

The two sides have been mired in a months-long dispute over the North\'s unilateral move to raise the minimum monthly wage for its workers at the complex from $70.35 to $74.00, starting in March.

South Korea insists that any wage change must be determined through mutual agreement.

More than 53,000 North Korean workers are employed by about 120 South Korean factories in the park, which opened in 2004 and is one of

the few areas of North-South economic cooperation.

一个韩国代表团星期四清晨启程前往开城工业园区。该园区位于事态紧张的南北朝分界线上朝鲜一侧。

韩国代表团团长李相民说，自今年6月以来，这将是负责运营开城工业园区的联合委员会首次举行会谈。

从3月开始，朝鲜单方面将园区内的朝鲜工人最低月薪从70.35美元提高到74美元，双方就这一问题进行了持续一个月的争执。

韩国坚持说，对工薪所做的任何调整都必须由双方共同决定。

开城工业园区有大约120家韩国工厂，雇用着5万3千多名朝鲜工人。该园区于2004年开始运营，是南北双方为数不多的经济合作项目之一。