The Republic of Korea on Thursday accepted the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's offer of high-level military talks to ease months of tension, but said Pyongyang must admit responsibility for two deadly border attacks.
The offer came in a message from defence minister Kim Yong-Chun to his counterpart in the South, Kim Kwan-Jin.
Seoul's unification ministry said the DPRK suggested that the two sides exchange views on both incidents and on ‘military tension reduction’ on the peninsula.
Cross-border relations worsened sharply last May when the RoK accused the DPRK of torpedoing one of its warships, the Cheonan, with the loss of 46 lives, a charge Pyongyang denies.
Tensions rose even higher after the DPRK bombarded a RoK border island in November, briefly sparking fears of all-out war.
The DPRK said the shelling was in response to the RoK's artillery drill on the island near the disputed border, which dropped shells into what Pyongyang claims as its waters.
AFP
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