South Korea is pushing for talks with a North Korean agency in charge of the Kaesong Industrial Complex next week to resolve weeks of dispute over wages for the North's workers, an official here said Friday.

In February, the North announced unilaterally that it would raise the minimum wage for its workers at the complex from $70.35 to $74 per month starting in March.

The North has spurned the South's call for government-level dialogue.

Seoul is instead seeking talks between the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee, a quasi-government organization, and the North's Central Special Development Guidance Bureau.

The South's efforts for talks have gained more urgency as its 124 firms will begin to pay the March wages for about 53,000 workers there on April 10.

"We are pushing to hold dialogue between the committee and the bureau before April 10," unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said at a press briefing.

He added that the government has sent an official letter to the South's related companies requesting close cooperation on its efforts to resolve the crisis through talks with the North.

The ministry called on the firms not to raise the wage level before any formal agreement.

The official said his ministry will explore every way to minimize damage for the firms, including financial compensation in case they are forced to leave the Kaesong zone. (Yonhap)