The two sides have already held six rounds of talks on resuming work at the Kaesong Industrial Complex without success. 

 

This round, however, comes after Seoul called for "final talks" on the matter. 

 

South Korea's chief delegate, Kim Ki-woong, said his team felt "tremendous responsibility" going into the meeting. 

 

"We will try our best to meet people's expectations," he added.

 

The Kaesong Industrial Complex, which lies just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories which employ more than 50,000 North Korean workers.

 

It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang. 

 

But North Korea withdrew its workers in April, angered by the expansion of UN sanctions afters its 12 February nuclear test and annual US-South Korea military drills. 

 

Tensions have eased somewhat since then and the two sides both say they are keen to reopen the complex. 

 

Negotiations² to date, however, have stalled because South Korea wants guarantees from the North that it will not unilaterally（单方面地） close the complex again. 

 

Pyongyang agreed to Wednesday's talks hours after Seoul said it would start distributing compensation payments to South Korean firms hit by the stoppage - a move seen as a precursor³ to formal closure of the zone. 

 

On Tuesday, the owners of South Korean businesses at the zone called for a deal. 

 

"This time, our government and the North's authorities must reach agreement on reopening Kaesong without fail," an association representing their interests said in a statement.

 

North Korea said last week that reopening Kaesong was in both nations' interests. 

 

But these talks also come ahead of another US-South Korea military exercise, which is likely to anger North Korea.

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