Pyongyang offers talks with Seoul to ease tensions

North Korea has offered to South Korea a working-level contact for inter-Korean talks between military authorities in late May, a state-run North Korean broadcaster reported on Saturday.

The Pyongyang Broadcasting Station (PBS) reported that the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces under North Korea's National Defence Commission had sent a notice to South Korea's military authorities.

With the notice, Pyongyang made overtures to Seoul for a working-level contact to hold inter-governmental military talks at a convenient venue and date between late May and early June to ease military tensions on the Korean peninsula and create a trustworthy atmosphere between the two sides, Xinhua news agency reported.

The notice said the military authorities of the two Koreas should have straightforward discussions on current issues relevant to possible military conflicts as well as need to agree upon and enforce institutional and legal measures mandatory to taking realistic actions for securing military trust between the two sides.

The notice came a day after North Korea's National Defence Commission said in an open letter on Friday that South Korea should immediately respond to top North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's proposal for inter-Korean military talks.

Seoul's defence ministry on Friday said Pyongyang should show its change in attitude toward denuclearisation with actions before making dialogue overtures, stressing that South Korea had maintained a firm position that denuclearisation is a top priority in talks with North Korea.

The ministry said it received a North Korean notice for the dialogue offer through a military communication line in the western region.

--IANS

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