The government says it's close to completing deliberation on insurance claims submitted by 109 South Korean firms with facilities at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
 
The Unification Ministry said Tuesday the government will immediately begin to pay insurance money to the companies once deliberation is done and decisions are made on insurance claims. 

A government official said that the deliberation process will likely wrap up Tuesday and the decision could be made as early as Wednesday.
 
The 109 South Korean companies have requested a total of 270 billion won in insurance money.
 
Observers say Seoul is taking steps to make a grave decision on the Gaeseong complex as subrogation rights will be transferred to the government once the insurance payments begin.
 
North Korea still has yet to respond to South Korea’s final offer for talks over a week ago on normalizing the industrial park's operations.

Seoul has dismissed speculations it is engaging in under-the-table talks with Pyongyang, and said all matters related to North Korea are dealt with openly and transparently.