Anchor: North Korea still hasn’t responded to South Korea’s final offer for talks on the stalled Gaeseong Industrial Complex. Seoul made the proposal on Sunday and is calling for Pyongyang to quickly reply. Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: South Korea is waiting for North Korea’s response to its final offer for talks over the normalization of the suspended Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
 
Seoul's Unification Ministry said the North did not issue any particular response to the South’s final offer on Sunday when liaison officials in the truce village of Panmunjeom held contacts Wednesday.
 
A ministry official on Tuesday urged the North to quickly respond to the government’s offer. The official said Seoul cannot wait forever for an answer when South Korean firms with facilities at the industrial park are suffering mental and physical damage. The official added South Koreans’ concerns are mounting over the stalemate.
 
Observers say the North has yet to respond because it is carefully considering the offer it considers an ultimatum on the Gaeseong issue.
 
They say the North is likely to either respond officially to the South’s offer by its liaison official in the truce village or respond indirectly via a media statement.
 
But the possibility North Korea won’t answer for some time cannot be ruled out. Some experts believe the North won’t respond until it comprehensively assesses related developments in the South and tendencies in the international community.
 
Some experts are watching to see if the North makes a revised proposal of its own for the Gaeseong negotiations. They say Pyongyang would likely request the rank of officials be raised for the talks if it puts out a revised proposal.
 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.