S. Korean minister to seek formal dialogue channel with N. Korea

South Korea's point man on North Korea vowed Thursday to make more efforts to open an official dialogue channel between the sides.
  

Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo made the remark as inter-Korean ties have been strained over various issues, including Pyongyang's decision to raise wages for North Korean workers hired by South Korean businesses at a joint industrial complex.
  

Seoul has proposed government-level talks to settle the issue, but Pyongyang has spurned the offer, insisting on its sovereignty.
  

"I will work harder to open a channel of dialogue between government officials," Hong said during a meeting of a council handling North Korea policy.
  

Hong also called for more cross-border projects to help build trust between the two Koreas.
  

"There should be more discussions on various projects aimed at achieving peaceful reunification through restoring a sense of homogeneity by creating more channels of contact between the people of the two sides," he said. (Yonhap)