South Korea and the U.S. will hold working group talks this week to decide on whether to approve four local companies wanting to operate factories in an industrial complex being built in the North Korean border city of Gaesong.
A government source said Sunday delegates from the U.S. Commerce Department will arrive in Seoul to discuss the possible transfer of "strategic" equipment into the communist North, which the companies need to start production in the industrial park.
If the 39 types of machinery are approved by the U.S. to enter North Korea, the Seoul government is ready to authorize the transfer within a month.
The items in question have been barred from being shipped to Gaesong over concerns that the strategic goods may be used for military purposes in the Stalinist state.
The government official added the bilateral meeting is significant in that it sets the groundwork in establishing a future channel on the matter between the two allies.
The Gaesong Industrial Complex, nearing completion, is touted as a major inter-Korean project.