South Korea is proposing to their counterparts in the North for talks regarding the re-opening of the Kaesong facilities. When both sides agree, over 53,000 North Korean workers will go back to their jobs while South Korean managers will be placed in charge of operations. The re-opening of the complex would also mean improving relations between the two Koreas.

The Kaesong industrial complex, located north of the Demilitarized Zone, is one of the few remaining proofs of cooperation between North Korea and South Korea. This area alone brings $2 billion into the economy of both countries, and it is a place where workers from both countries converge. However, its operations were put to a halt since April due to worsening relations between the two nations.

The production lines in Kaesong produced everything from electrical parts, wrist watches, shoes and cable wires. Several companies relied on the production of this industrial complex and they were left looking for new suppliers when it was shut down. North Korea ordered their citizens who were working there to leave their posts as a sign of protest to the joint military exercises that South Korea was having with United States troops near the DMZ.

South Korean officials are proposing to have the talks at the village of Panmunjom where the North Korea-South Korea border is set. They are already working on a framework to bring back the workers to the factory and to maintain the goods that were left due to the stalemate. The Korea Unification Ministry said that South Korea will send three representatives to the talks.

While there are no solid responses from the North Korean government regarding the proposal, they allowed the South Korean factory managers to move their materials and goods out of Kaesong to prevent damage that can be brought by the incoming rainy season. In June 2013, the two sides tried to discuss the status of Kaesong and the projects at Mount Kumgang. However, the plan faltered due to disagreements over the protocol during the talks.

After the Second World War, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or more popularly known as North Korea, established a government that follows the ideals and political structure of their main ally, the then-superpower Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea or South Korea had a government that supported the U.S. The clash in ideologies was the main fuel of the Korean War that started in 1953.

The U.S.-aided South Korea troops was about to take over North Korea when China entered the war and supported the Communist-leaning North. Fearing that the United States will cross the Yalu River into their country, the Chinese government led by Mao Zedong sent a million volunteer forces to North Korea to contain the advancements by the South. When the two Koreas reached a stalemate, they signed an armistice and divided the two countries in the 37th parallel.

The armistice meant that military action between the two countries will be stopped. However, the two sides are still technically at war for no official declaration ending the Korean War has been signed. Due to the war alert status between the two nations especially near the Demilitarized Zone, there have been recent clashes between the two Koreas.

In the 2010, South Korea's ROKS Cheonan sank off Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow River due to a torpedo from a North Korean vessel. Also in the same year, a naval stand-off in Yeonpyeong Island between the two sides left two civilians and two South Korean Marines dead.