[Iran Press TV Latest] Amid the easing of tensions between the two Koreas, the North hints that it will lift cross-border restrictions and facilitate the access of workers from the South to a joint industrial zone.
| We need a steady supply of South Koreans to jail on trumped up charges. |
Seoul's unification ministry, which is in charge of cross-border relations, said that the move would take effect on Friday.
| The hint will take effect? I'm confused. |
"North Korea told our side that it would lift cross-border restrictions tomorrow," Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said on Thursday.
| That's not a hint. That's a statement. |
The easing of border restrictions could lead to the travelling of goods and the normalization of the flow of workers to the joint factory complex in Kaesong, located just inside North Korea.
| Could means a probability greater than zero. It does not necessarily imply a probability very much greater than zero, though. |
Pyongyang placed restrictions on workers and cargo in protest since the new government came to power in December 2008.
Relations between the two Koreas deteriorated after the conservative government of President Lee Myung-bak came to power in Seoul last year.
| "We need a steady supply of South Korean workers to convict of talking to our citizens." |
The developments come after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made a number of conciliatory gestures toward the South over some past weeks.
Pyongyang has also announced that it would allow the reunion of divided families and the reopening of its border to South Korean tourists.
The announcement also comes just weeks after former US president Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held a meeting on the issue in Pyongyang.
Tensions between North Korea and the US have been on the rise following Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests in May. Officials in Washington now say they are willing to hold direct talks with Pyongyang over its nuclear program. |