North, South Korea open to talks on joint industrial zone

North and South Korea both expressed a wish Thursday to start talks on reopening a joint industrial complex that was closed down two months ago, dpa cited their respective news agencies as reporting. A statement by North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, carried by the state news agency KCNA, proposed holding direct talks with South Korea on issues including the reopening of the Kaesong industrial zone. South Korea's Ministry of Communication welcomed the announcement from Pyongyang. "We hope talks will become an opportunity to help forge trust," it said, adding that the agenda, date and place for the first talks would be announced later on, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. Pyongyang withdrew all of its 53,000 workers from the industrial park in April. Political and military tensions had been rising on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea conducted a third nuclear test in February. By May, all the South Koreans working in Kaesong had also left.