朝鲜提议韩朝举行工作会谈

 　　Pyongyang, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday proposed holding working-level contacts with South Korea in Kaesong on Sunday, the official KCNA news agency reported.

　　The proposal announced by a spokesman of the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea came after it called for talks with South Korean authorities on Thursday.

　　The spokesman also said the DPRK will reopen the Panmunjom Red Cross liaison¹ channel from 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday.

　　"We appreciate the fact that the south side promptly² and positively³ responded to the proposal made by us for holding talks between the authorities of both sides," he was quoted as saying.

　　The spokesman said that in view of the two sides' stalemated relations and increasing mistrust, working-level contacts between the DPRK and South Korea are necessary prior to ministerial-level talks proposed by Seoul.

　　South Korea said Thursday it wants to hold a ministerial-level dialogue with the DPRK on June 12 in Seoul in response to Pyongyang's proposal for holding official talks on reopening the Kaesong Industrial Zone.

　　Pyongyang shut down the industrial zone in early April and pulled out 53,000 DPRK workers. South Korea also withdrew its workers starting on April 26 after Pyongyang rejected Seoul's proposal for working-level talks.

　　The Kaesong Industrial Zone, which is under the joint⁴ management of South Korea and the DPRK and a key symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation, is facing its worst crisis since it opened in late 2004.

　　Related:

　　S. Korea wants to hold inter-Korean dialogue in Seoul next week

　　SEOUL, June 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea said Thursday it wants to hold a ministerial-level dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on June 12 in Seoul in response to DPRK's proposal to hold official talks on reopening a joint industrial zone, according to Yonhap news agency.

　　"(The government) suggests ministerial-level South-North talks on June 12 in Seoul in order to resolve issues of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the Mt. Kumgang resort and separated families, " Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a news conference.  Full story

　　DPRK proposes direct talks with South Korean authorities

　　PYONGYANG, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday proposed holding direct talks with South Korea on issues including the normalization⁵ of the operation in the Kaesong Industrial Zone (KIZ) and the resumption of tour of Mt. Kumgang, the official KCNA news agency reported.

　　The four-point proposal was made by the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) in a special statement issued by its spokesman. Full story

　　S. Korea agrees to talk with DPRK

　　SEOUL, June 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea agreed Thursday to an earlier proposal by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) for official talks.

　　The South Korean government "positively views North Korea (DPRK) 's proposal on official talks," the Unification Ministry⁶ said in a statement. "We hope that South and North Korea can build trust through this opportunity."

1 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

2 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

3 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。