South Korea invites North for military talks over border
Seoul has invited Pyongyang to military talks aimed at restoring communication channels and calming border tensions, days after the North said it moved new units into 'firing positions'.
South Korea has proposed holding military talks with North Korea in a bid to calm rising tensions along their heavily fortified border, Al Jazeera reports.
Seoul said on Friday it had invited Pyongyang to discuss restoring communication channels, with talks aimed at "mutually confirm[ing]" the precise location of the Military Demarcation Line. "Specific dates and locations could be discussed through Panmunjom," a South Korean official said, referring to the truce village on the border. The South also said it was open to three-way talks involving the United States-led United Nations Command.
It remains unclear whether North Korea would agree. Leader Kim Jong Un has taken a hardline approach towards Seoul and suspended virtually all dialogue and cooperation, according to the report.
The proposal comes days after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, announced on Wednesday that new military units had been moved into "firing positions" along the border. Pyongyang has also added mines, barbed-wire fences, tactical roads, antitank walls and other fortifications, the report says.
Tensions worsened last month when three South Korean soldiers were injured by explosions near the border. Seoul blamed landmines it said were laid by the North and demanded an apology, an accusation Pyongyang fiercely rejected.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for the North to return to dialogue. A similar proposal for talks last year went unanswered by Pyongyang.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.