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South Korea agrees to military talks with North, sets conditions

South Korea says it is ready to meet North Korea and hold high-level military talks, but it is insisiting on conditions that it had already set for the talks to proceed. 

Reuters
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“We will come to the high-level military talks, whose agenda should include the North’s making a firm commitment to taking responsible measures concerning the sinking of the Cheonan and the shelling on Yeonpyeong island,” spokesperson Lee Jong-Joo told the AFP news agency.

“As the North did not mention our demand as to denuclearisation, we will also separately propose high-level talks to verify their seriousness about denuclearisation,” she added.

South Korea’s statement comes a day after a message from North Korea’s Defence Minister Kim Yong-Chun to his counterpart Kim Kwan-Jin.

The South’s Unification Ministry said Pyongyang proposed the two sides exchange positions on both incidents and “military tension reduction”.

Relations between the two Koreas have worsened following the attack on the Cheonan warship last May and November’s bombing of an island.

The North has adopted a different approach this year, repeatedly calling for talks.

Thursday’s proposal was the first offer of high-level talks and came a day after US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao agreed that “sincere and constructive dialogue” between the two countries was essential.

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