N. Korea proposes military talks with S. Korea amid nuclear deadlock

SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has proposed to South Korea that the two
sides hold working-level military talks next week, an official at the Defense
Ministry said Friday, amid growing concerns over Pyongyang's intentions to
resume nuclear activity.

Pyongyang proposed on Thursday that the two sides "discuss issues about
implementing agreements that have been reached" between their military
authorities, the official, requesting anonymity, quoted the message from the
North as saying.
The South is currently considering the North's proposal, which was made through
an inter-Korean military communication channel, the official said.
The surprise proposal came amid mounting international concern over a
multinational North Korea nuclear disarmament deal said to be in danger. North
Korea has recently barred U.N. nuclear inspectors from its nuclear reprocessing
facility in Yonbgyon and threatened to re-load nuclear material into the plant.
The North's latest measure was a serious setback for the aid-for-denuclearization
deal signed last year, which also involves South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia
and Japan.
South Korea's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said earlier in the day, "It is a
difficult situation (in which) the six-way talks may be back to square one,
rather than making progress."
"The pertinent government functions are looking into the background of the
North's proposal, and are considering whether to hold the talks," the ministry
official said.
The two Koreas last held working-level military talks in January. Inter-Korean
relations have been markedly strained since the inauguration of conservative
President Lee Myung-bak in February and the shooting death of a South Korean
tourist in the North's resort Mount Geumgang, which still has yet to be fully
investigated.
A government official said that what Pyongyang wants to bring to the table is
"not yet clear." However, operating the agreed upon train cargo service between
Munsan and (the North's) Bondong could be one of the agenda items, he said.
"What the North tries to settle in the talks is not yet clear according to the
message," the official said. "We are thoroughly looking into whether their
intentions are to unilaterally bring out their position on the new (South's)
government's North Korea policy."