The meeting, which would be a major breakthrough after a two-year suspension of the disarmament-for-aid process, will be proposed separately from high-level military talks between the rival Koreas.

Last week, the DPRK accepted the RoK 's terms for talks to try to defuse one of the worst crises on the peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War.

"As soon as (internal) discussions conclude, we will be making a proposal to the DPRK on high-level military talks and also official meetings on denuclearization," said Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-ju.

A RoK Defence Ministry official said on January 24 a set of working-level talks will probably take place in mid-February to set the dates, venue and agenda for a high-level military meeting, and the South's proposal will likely be made this week.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula rose sharply last year when a RoK’s navy ship was sunk by a torpedo attack in March that Seoul blamed on Pyongyang. The DPRK bombarded a RoK island late in the year, the first such attack in decades.