Seoul and Pyongyang have signed a preliminary plan to revive the stalled inter-Korean co-operation project at Kaesong, South Korea said, after six rounds of fruitless talks had spurred fears of a permanent shutdown.

Operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex were suspended in April, at a time when North Korea was warning of imminent war. The complex, which hosted 123 South Korean companies and 53,000 North Korean workers, was the last joint project surviving from a period of warmer relations in the early years of the last decade.

After a full day of talks on Wednesday at Kaesong, 10km north of the inter-Korean border, South Korea's unification ministry said that both sides had signed a five-point plan paving the way for a resumption of normal operations at the complex.