The two Koreas are still at loggerheads over the North's demands for wage increases at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex even as the payment deadline for March falls on Monday.
 
The Ministry of Unification said Sunday that the South's Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee and the North's Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau held a second round of talks on Saturday, but failed to reach any agreements.
 
As a result, South Korean firms operating in the industrial complex plan to pay the March wages on Monday, the last day of the pay period, based on the previous standards.
 
The North is said to have demanded that South Korean companies sign an agreement promising to increase wages at a later date. In exchange, North Korea would accept the previously agreed upon wages for the time being.

But the South Korean government isn't expected to go along as it would be accepting the North's unilateral demands for a pay hike.
 
Meanwhile, the majority of South Korean businessmen who had planned to visit the industrial complex to meet their North Korean counterparts on Monday are said to have canceled their plans.