It will be the second meeting between the two parties since the March attack on the Cheonan, which killed 46 RoK’s sailors. An international investigation blamed the DPRK for the sinking, an assertion the DPRK has denied.

Officers from both sides will meet in Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone between the DPRK and the RoK. The talks are designed to set the stage for higher-level discussions on the disputed naval incident.

The demilitarized zone was created as part of the armistice signed between the DPRK and the RoK in 1953 that halted fighting in the Korean War, but the war has never officially ended.

The United Nations and the DPRK began occasional meetings between generals -- "general officer talks" -- at Panmunjom in 1998 in an effort to lessen tensions. There have been 17 such meetings so far.

Earlier this month, the United Nations formally condemned the sinking of the Cheonan but did not specifically name the DPRK.