North and South Korea wrapped up four days of economic talks in Pyongyang on Saturday, agreeing on rice aid for the communist North, restoring railway and road links and opening an industrial park in the North.
The agreements came a day after the two rivals pledged in a separate military talks held in the South to introduce measures to prevent naval clashes and to remove propaganda speakers and signs along the world's last Cold War frontier.
"We stressed at the talks that easing military tensions and addressing the North's nuclear problems are key to promote economic co-operation between the two sides," Seoul's unification ministry said in a statement.
The two sides agreed to complete building a model industrial complex in Kaesong, North Korea, in the first half of this year and to have manufacturers start production in the later half.
Kaesong, a former royal capital of feudal Korea, is about 70 km (45 miles) north of Seoul, close to the Demilitarised Zone dividing the peninsula.
North Korea has begun to introduce market reforms in an effort to revive an economy shattered after a succession of natural disasters compounded by mismanagement.
Seoul will send the impoverished North 400,000 tonnes of rice this year and two sides agreed to reopen North-South railway links severed since the 1950-53 Korean War by late next year and road links by October 2004, the statement said.
The agreement to re-link roads and railways was struck in 2000 when North-South leaders held a historic summit in Pyongyang, but North Korea has dragged its feet on the project.
North and South Korea will hold a tenth round of economic talks in Seoul from August 31 to September 3 in Seoul.
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