The agreement reached between the two Koreas this week on increasing the minimum wage for North Korean workers in a joint industrial park has raised some eyebrows among critics in the South. The deal, reached after six months of negotiations, virtually accepted Pyongyang’s unilateral decision to hike wages by 5.18 percent for its workers at the Gaeseong industrial complex in the North Korean border city.

The inter-Korean accord to raise the monthly wage by 5 percent to $73.87 came as military tension has heightened on the divided peninsula following Aug. 4 land mine explosions blamed on the North in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone.

President Park Geun-hye’s government has reiterated that it will continue to pursue dialogue with Pyongyang despite the land mine blasts that seriously wounded two South Korean soldiers.

The North’s latest provocation seemed to have forced her to withdraw a message of cooperation and reconciliation with the reclusive regime from her Aug. 15 Liberation Day address. But Park said she would put in her full efforts to build peace on the peninsula while pledging to sternly deal with further provocations by Pyongyang.

Currently, there are no signs of the wage agreement leading to inter-Korean dialogue in other fields. The North has denied involvement in the land mine blasts, rejecting Seoul’s call to apologize for the incident.

Resuming talks with the North is needed to stabilize the situation on the peninsula and induce its leader Kim Jong-un to change his confrontational course. The problem is that Seoul has difficulty finding effective options for pushing for inter-Korean dialogue.

Park’s administration needs to be proactive in applying more pressure on the North while offering more incentives to the impoverished regime. She should draw cooperation from neighboring powers in changing Pyongyang’s attitude through her forthcoming talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Barack Obama and possibly Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Discussion on joint projects involving the two Koreas and Russia could also help make a breakthrough in strained inter-Korean ties.

Park may set her sights on holding a summit with Kim during the remainder of her five-year tenure that ends in February 2018. It would enable her to take the initiative in handling issues regarding the peninsula and heighten Seoul’s diplomatic stature.

The inter-Korean summit would also allow the North to get out of international isolation and attract massive investment from South Korean companies in developing its special economic zones. In his New Year speech, Kim expressed his interest in holding the “highest-level talks” with the South if proper atmosphere and conditions were forged.

Park may need to disperse the North’s concern about being absorbed into the South by toning down the discourse here over preparations for inter-Korean unification. It seems reasonable to consolidate cooperation and peace between the two Koreas rather than focusing on the possible collapse of the North Korean regime, as Kim is seen to have tightened his grip on power.