朝鲜和韩国官员星期四举行会谈，争取解决双方长期以来围绕开城工业园区工人工资问题的分歧。
North and South Korea officials hold talks Thursday aimed at resolving a protracted wage dispute at a jointly run factory complex.
一个韩国代表团星期四清晨启程前往开城工业园区。该园区位于事态紧张的南北朝分界线上朝鲜一侧。
A South Korean delegation left early Thursday for the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which lies on the North Korean side of the countries' tense border.
韩国代表团团长李相民说，自今年6月以来，这将是负责运营开城工业园区的联合委员会首次举行会谈。
Lee Sang-min, head of the Seoul delegation, said it will be the first meeting since June for the joint commission in charge of running the complex.
从3月开始，朝鲜单方面将园区内的朝鲜工人最低月薪从70.35美元提高到74美元，双方就这一问题进行了持续一个月的争执。
The two sides have been mired in a months-long dispute over the North's unilateral move to raise the minimum monthly wage for its workers at the complex from $70.35 to $74.00, starting in March.
韩国坚持说，对工薪所做的任何调整都必须由双方共同决定。
South Korea insists that any wage change must be determined through mutual agreement.
开城工业园区有大约120家韩国工厂，雇用着5万3千多名朝鲜工人。该园区于2004年开始运营，是南北双方为数不多的经济合作项目之一。
More than 53,000 North Korean workers are employed by about 120 South Korean factories in the park, which opened in 2004 and is one of the few areas of North-South economic cooperation.