North Korea has presented South Korea with sharply elevated rent and wage demands for running a joint industrial facility just inside the North Korean border. At the same time, Pyongyang is refusing to release a detained executive it has held with no outside contact for more than two months.
北韩向韩国提出提高开城工业园区的租金并增加工人薪水的要求，这个工业园区是南北韩在靠近韩国的北韩境内开办的联合工业设施。另一方面，平壤拒绝释放一名被拘押了两个多月的韩国管理人员，其间北韩不许他与外界接触。
North Korea said a South Korean executive who has been detained for more than two months is "doing well," but is still refusing the South any contact with him.
北韩表示，被关押了两个多月的一名韩国管理人员“情况良好，”不过，北韩仍然拒绝韩国跟他有任何接触。
That word came after about two hours of working level talks Thursday between the two sides concerning the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint industrial zone in North Korea.
北韩做出上述表示之前，南北韩就有关双方在北韩联合开办的开城工业园区问题举行了大约两个小时的会谈。
North Korea also made steep demands for more money to continue operating the zone, including a fourfold increase in workers' wages. South Korean Unification Ministry official Kim Young-tak headed Seoul's delegation.
北韩要求韩国注入大量资金继续开办这个工业园区，包括将区内员工薪水提高四倍。韩国谈判代表团由统一部官员金泳卓率领。
He said the North made the wage demands considering the workers' productivity, and by looking at wage levels in other countries.
金泳卓说，北韩从工人生产力出发，并参考其它国家工资水平，提出加薪要求。
The Kaesong complex was conceived as a practical laboratory in reconciliation between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war. South Korean companies employ nearly 40,000 North Korean workers to make simple manufactured items, from sneakers to cookware.
设立开城工业园区是想把它做为南北韩实现统一的试验项目，严格说双方目前还处在交战状态。韩国企业雇用了将近4万名北韩工人生产运动鞋到厨房用具等简单制成品。
North Korea's actions over the past year, however, have raised serious questions about the zone's viability. Pyongyang has on several occasions restricted access across the North-South border by suppliers of raw materials, and last month announced the nullification of wage and rent contracts there.
然而，北韩过去这年的所作所为让人们严重质疑这个工业园区是否有必要存在下去。平壤屡次禁止原材料供应商进入北韩境内，上个月还宣布终止在开城工业园区的薪酬合同和租约。
The North has also detained a South Korean who has helped manage the zone since March. The executive, known by his surname Yu, is accused of making inflammatory comments about the North Korean leadership and possibly encouraging a North Korean female worker to defect.
北韩还关押了一名韩国人，这名韩国人从3月开始一直帮助管理这个工业园区。
Kim said the South told the North the detainee is the "essential" issue facing the Kaesong complex,and expressed how much his family was worried about him. He says the North assured him Yu is in good condition.
金泳卓说，韩国方面对北韩说，这名被关押的韩国人是开城工业园区面临的一个关键问题。韩国还表达了他的家人对他的担忧。金泳卓说，北韩方面让他放心，这位姓于的管理人员情况良好。
The security concerns surrounding Yu's case led one South Korean clothing company to pull out of Kaesong this week. Analysts said safety fears and rising costs are creating the risk of a domino effect, in which companies pull out of the complex en masse.
人们对这位于姓韩国人的安全很是担心，这导致一家韩国服装厂这个星期撤出开城。分析人士认为，安全担忧和不断上升的各种成本正在产生连锁反应的风险，导致大量韩国企业撤离开城。
The two Koreas agreed to talk again next Friday, June 19.
南北韩同意6月19号下星期五再次举行谈判。 |