South Korea urged North Korea Wednesday to accept talks to arrange the return of production materials and finished goods from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

The call comes a day after the Ministry of Unification officially proposed working level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, aimed at alleviating the plight of the 123 South Korean companies that were forced out of the inter-Korean joint venture complex.

Operations of the companies came to a halt early last month after Pyongyang ordered all of its 53,000 laborers not to report for work, citing South Korea’s provocations.

“Taking into account the many changes that have occurred in the past few months, Seoul hopes the North will respond (to the dialogue proposal),” ministry spokeswoman Park Soo-jin said in a news briefing.

The official did not elaborate on what kind of changes took place but hinted that Seoul was currently not engaged in joint military exercises with the United States that had been one reason why the North ratcheted up tensions this year.

She added that President Park Geun-hye’s remarks at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting to engage the North in direct talks has given weight to the issue. The official pointed out that the topic of discussion is something the North must accept.

“What is most important at present is for the North to come out (to the negotiating table) as a responsible member of the international community,” the spokeswoman said.

The official, however, said that despite the call for talks, the North has yet to give a reply.

The latest proposal marks the third time that Seoul has called for a discussion to normalize operations at Gaeseong, which remains the only commercial link between the two sides. The complex mates South Korean capital and production knowhow with cheap North Korean labor and has been in operation since late 2004. (Yonhap News)