North Korea said Tuesday it is ready for talks on normalizing the Gaeseong industrial town with businesses and semi-official complex managers from South Korea.

But Seoul officials remained skeptical toward the latest overture which signaled the North’s changing attitude but is still short of their demand for government-level talks.

“We’ve already approved the visit by entrepreneurs of the industrial district, and when they come we will proceed with any discussions over its normalization including the withdrawal of their products,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement.

The agency dismissed Seoul’s safety concerns for the businesspeople, saying South Korea can send members of the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee along with them.

The committee in charge of cross-border affairs said the issue of production materials is not to be settled through formal talks in nature, adding “it would not even be raised in the first place if the project becomes resumed and normalized.”

“Stubbornly insisting on working-level talks creates an obstacle for solving the problem and will result in dragging out the current suspension, ruining equipment and materials and, eventually, the district’s extinction,” it added.

The Rodong Sinmun, a mouthpiece of the North’s ruling Worker’s Party, also said in a commentary that “the pressing issue with regard to the Gaeseong crisis is not simply how to cope with the remaining goods but the industrial park’s normalization.”

Last week, 243 employees from 103 firms sought to cross the border to ship out remaining raw and subsidiary materials and finished goods left in Gaeseong since their own pullout in late April.

Lawmaker Hong Ihk-pyo from the opposition Democratic Party said the North had indicated its readiness to accept their request but the ministry dismissed the offer, demanding official talks be held in advance for the recovery of the severed military hotline to maintain communication and clear safety concerns.

The ministry criticized the CPRK statement for billing its dialogue proposal as a “trick.”

“It doesn’t cover what to do with the government at all,” a senior ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The ministry saw the latest overture as another attempt by Pyongyang to divide the public and spark ideological strife by setting out against the authorities while dealing solely with private entities.

It has been emphasizing the government’s predominant role in resolving the quarrel and reactivating the joint factory park.

“If the North is truly interested in improving inter-Korean relations, it should not contact civilian businesses and organizations but come forward as soon as possible for governmental talks and build trust,” the official said.

“We should basically reinstate the disconnected military communication line and then resolve the retrieval of raw and subsidiary materials during talks.”

In a separate statement, the CPRK blasted Seoul’s disapproval of its proposal to host a joint event to commemorate the watershed 2000 inter-Korean summit.

The North Side Committee for Implementing the June 15 Joint Declaration last week sent a fax to its South Korean counterpart, suggesting the celebration take place in Gaeseong or Mount Geumgangsan.

“The participation of South Koreans in the event must be approved immediately,” the CPRK said. “If there are concerns about any discord in the South, its government officials can also participate.”

The landmark agreement adopted between the late leaders, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il, called for efforts for independent unification, reunions of separated families, economic, cultural and social cooperation, and government-level dialogue.

The two Koreas held joint annual celebrations at Mount Geumgang from 2001 until a South Korean tourist was shot to death by a North Korean soldier in July 2008. A series of provocations ensued, prompting then-President Lee Myung-bak to harden his stance and crippling other inter-Korean programs.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)