South and North Korea agreed Wednesday to new talks on their shuttered joint industrial park in Kaesong, after Pyongyang offered what Seoul called "forward-looking" proposals for reopening the complex.

The agreement came just hours after Seoul had announced it would start paying compensation to South Korean firms locked out of Kaesong since April -- a move widely seen as presaging a permanent withdrawal.

The two Koreas have already held six rounds of fruitless talks aimed at resuming operations at the complex, and the South warned Sunday that it was "reaching the limit" of its patience.

The main sticking point has been the South's insistence that the North provide a binding guarantee that it would not unilaterally close Kaesong in the future if the South Korean-funded park is reopened.

Pyongyang had barred South Korean entry to the park in early April as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soared, and shortly afterwards withdrew its entire 53,000-strong workforce.

In what it called a "bold and magnanimous" gesture, the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) issued Wednesday a statement promising total access to Kaesong and guaranteeing the future attendance of its workers and the safety of all South Koreans working there.

It also said both North and South should ensure that normal operations at the complex are never again "affected by any situation in any case".

Whether that will satisfy the South's demand for a guarantee remains to be seen, but Seoul responded positively and agreed to the CPRK's proposal for a seventh round of talks on August 14.

"We consider the North has come up with a forward-looking attitude," said Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Suk.

"We hope this meeting will be able to resolve the Kaesong issue and work out measures aimed at ensuring the normalisation and further development of Kaesong," Kim said.

Born out of the "sunshine" reconciliation policy initiated in the late 1990s by then-South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung, Kaesong was established in 2004 as a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

Lying 10 kilometers (six miles) across the border in North Korea, it provided an important hard currency source for the impoverished North through taxes, other revenues, and its cut of workers' wages.

It had appeared immune to previous downward spirals in North-South relations, but finally fell victim to two months of intense military tensions that followed the North's nuclear test in February.

Both sides blamed the other for its closure, with the North insisting that its hand was forced by hostile South Korean actions -- in particular, a series of joint military exercises with the United States.

Wednesday's CPRK statement accepted no direct responsibility for the suspension of operations at Kaesong, and stressed that preventing any recurrence was the joint duty of "North and South".

"It still suggests that both Koreas are responsible," said IBK Economic Research Institute analyst Cho Bong-Hyun, who felt it fell short of providing the safeguards Seoul had been asking for.

"How to narrow down differences in this matter will be a key issue in the talks. I see an uphill battle ahead," Cho said.

The business association representing owners of the 123 South Korean companies in Kaesong said it "actively welcomed" the North's statement.

"We hope the (South) government will accept the proposal and Kaesong can get back to normal at an early date," it said in a statement.

N. Korea offers South guarantees to reopen industrial zone
Seoul (AFP) Aug 07, 2013 - North Korea on Wednesday offered a series of proposals and guarantees to break deadlocked talks with South Korea on reopening a joint industrial zone shut down in April.

As well as allowing South Korean firms full access to the Kaesong complex, the North said it would guarantee the future attendance of its workers and the safety of all South Koreans working there.

Pyongyang had barred access to Kaesong in early April as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soared, and shortly afterwards withdrew its entire 53,000-strong workforce.

Crucially, Wednesday's statement by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) also proposed that both North and South prevent any future closure of Kaesong by ensuring that its operations are never again "affected by any situation in any case".

If the South responds to what the CPRK called "this bold and magnanimous stand", the committee said the North would agree to a seventh round of working-level talks on Kaesong's future on August 14.

The statement, carried on the North's official Korean Central News Agency, was the North's first response to South Korea's request, made on July 28, for a "final" set of talks.

It came just hours after Seoul announced it would begin paying out $250 million in compensation to the South Korean companies forced to abandon their factories in Kaesong.

The announcement was widely seen as presaging a decision permanently to shut down all operations at the complex, which lies 10 kilometers (six miles) across the border in North Korea.

The two Koreas have already held six fruitless rounds of talks aimed at agreeing a framework for the resumption of operations at Kaesong.

The main sticking point has been the South's insistence that the North provide a binding guarantee against any unilateral closure in the future.

Pyongyang had demurred and it was not immediately clear if Wednesday's statement provided the sort of assurances Seoul was seeking.

The South's Unification Ministry said it was studying the proposals.

S. Korea to pay $250 mn compensation to Kaesong firms
Paju, South Korea (AFP) Aug 07, 2013 - South Korea said Wednesday it had authorised a $250 million compensation payout to companies based in the inter-Korean Kaesong industrial zone, which was shut down due to surging military tensions in April.

"Payment will begin Thursday," said Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Suk.

The move is seen by some as presaging the permanent closure of Kaesong, after six rounds of fruitless North-South negotiations aimed at resuming operations there.

Representatives of the 123 South Korean firms with plants in the complex held a rally near the border on Wednesday morning, urging both Seoul and Pyongyang to find a way out of the impasse.

Labelling Kaesong a "symbol of peace", they called on North Korea to accede to the South's request for a binding guarantee to avoid any unilateral shutdown of the complex in the future.

They also suggested Seoul show more "flexibility" in the negotiations.

A rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, Kaesong was effectively shut down in early April when the North withdrew its 53,000 workers from the zone as military tensions soared across the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang argued that its hand had been forced by intimidation from the South which was holding a series of joint military exercises with the United States.

A total of 109 companies have applied for compensation.

Han said the final payout would amount to 280.9 billion won ($251.2 million), with a ceiling of seven billion won per company.