South Korea said Wednesday it was edging toward a deal with North Korea to ensure the return of the remaining workers at a joint industrial zone that has become a casualty of military tensions.

The last South Korean workers had all been due to return from the North on Monday but seven remained to settle unresolved issues such as unpaid taxes and wages for North Korean workers, believed to amount to millions of dollars.

“Differences are being narrowed even if the pace is slower than we expected,” a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry told reporters.

He said the South Koreans had remained at the Gaeseong industrial complex “voluntarily” to resolve the issues at the North’s request, downplaying fears they might be held hostage.

Seoul has been reluctant to elaborate on the demands being made by the North, but wages that should have been paid to the 53,000 laborers for March may reach $7.2 million, with additional claims likely to push up the total to around $8 million, according to some estimates.

“The government stance is that while the North is responsible for the halt in operations that forced the pullout of the 123 South Korean companies from the inter-Korean economic zone last month, it is willing to meet all obligations as outlined in regulations governing the operation of the complex,” said the official, who declined to be identified.

The complex ― built 10 kilometers north of the tense border in 2004 ― was once a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation but now faces the possibility of permanent closure.

North Korea unilaterally barred entry of South Korean nationals and materials into Gaeseong on April 3, and followed this move by ordering all of its laborers not to report for duty six days later, which halted all production at the complex.

He said that in exchange, the South Korean team headed by Gaeseong management committee chairman Hong Yang-ho wants the North to agree to allow finished products and industrial materials to be handed over to the companies.

“The core differences are centered on the amount being asked by the North and the return of finished products and industrial materials,” he said.

He conceded that this problem is taking longer to resolve than previously anticipated.

“Time is needed since demands being made by the North need to be cross-checked with companies,” he said.

Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party, said South Korea should continue to send power and water supplies to Gaeseong from humanitarian perspectives.

But Seoul is considering cutting off the supplies now that the industrial zone has been suspended.

“Water and electricity supplies should continue on humanitarian grounds,” Hwang said during a meeting of party leaders. “Though business operations at the Gaeseong complex have been effectively terminated, water and electricity there are also used by Gaeseong residents.”

Hwang also urged North Korea to resolve the problem through dialogue and allow essential South Korean staff to freely visit the complex. He also called for swift financial support measures for South Korean companies suffering from the suspension.

Rep. Park Ji-won of the main opposition Democratic United Party echoed the view.

“Continued supplies of water and electricity are required to protect the property of South Korean firms left at Gaeseong and to leave room for the resumption of the industrial park,” Park said in a radio interview earlier in the day.

In Washington, the U.S. government said Tuesday it is waiting for clear signals that the communist nation is serious about dialogue, although the North has apparently adopted a tactic of silence.

“Certainly stopping some of the bluster and the rhetoric and the threats is a good thing,” Patrick Ventrell, deputy spokesman for the State Department, said, briefing reporters. “But in addition to lowering rhetoric and tension, we also want them to start to make signals that they’re going to come in compliance with their international obligations.”

He stressed that the broader policy goal of the U.S. is still the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Media here are curious about Pyongyang’s intentions as it has markedly lowered military threats.

Until recently, the North’s authorities churned out warnings of a nuclear strike and other attacks. It was also viewed as preparing for an intermediate-range missile launch from a mobile launcher on the east coast.

Ventrell said Washington has been in close consultation with China.

“We certainly have been in close communication with the Chinese, who have some special influence with the North Koreans and others, and we’ll continue to do that as we pursue our broader policy goal,” he added.

(From news reports)