South and North Korea have agreed to allow some South Korean workers to stay at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea from Tuesday.
 
A South Korean official said the head of the joint management committee on Gaeseong, Kim Ki-woong, proposed the stay during a second round of talks Tuesday in Gaeseong, North Korea. Kim’s North Korean counterpart, Park Chol-su, accepted.
 
The official said around 30 people, including South Korean staff of the joint committee, and employees of the Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Telecom, will stay at the complex. The ministry noted the number could change.
 
Allowing the South Koreans to stay at Gaeseong is a preliminary step to the resumption of complex operations. Sources have said with the latest development, the inter-Korean factory park will be ready to resume operations this week.
 
The two Koreas are likely to reach a decision on when to restart operations of the industrial park, following the reconnection of the inter-Korean military hotline along the west coast on Saturday. Seoul stated as a precondition the hotline must be restored to normalize operations at the joint venture.
 
Almost 500 South Korean company officials are maintaining production and other facilities in Gaeseong. The joint inter-Korean business venture has been idle for 130 days since North Korea shut it down on May 3rd.