North Korea Accepts Seoul's Call for Kaesong Talks

FILE- Protesters comprising of South Korean employers and employees working at factories in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) inside North Korean chant slogans during a rally at the Imjingak pavilion.

North Korea has accepted South Korea's offer to hold working-level talks next week to improve the competitiveness of the joint industrial park in Kaesong.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said Friday that Pyongyang notified Seoul it wants to hold three meetings on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss investment protection, workers' rights and internationalization.

A South Korean official said travel, communications and customs will be discussed at a later date.

At present there are 123 South Korean companies with factories in Kaesong. The two sides established a joint management committee in late September to ensure the smooth operation of the industrial zone after it was shut down in April during a time of unusually tense relations following Pyongyang's third nuclear test.