Seoul proposes new date for military talks with N. Korea: source

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, in response to a proposal by North Korea for military talks this month, suggested on Monday that the proposed meeting be delayed until early next month, a military source said.

The talks, if held, will be the first of their kind since South Korea's Lee
Myung-bak government was inaugurated in February. Military talks between the
divided Koreas were last held on Jan. 25.
Seoul's counterproposal came four days after the North's military mission to the
joint security area, better known as the truce village of Panmunjom, suggested
working-level military talks on Tuesday.
"The government believes it would be inappropriate to hold such a meeting one day
before Armed Forces Day," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due
to the sensitivity of the issue.
Seoul is planning various events, including the first street parade of service
members through Seoul in five years, to mark the 60th anniversary of the
foundation of its military on Wednesday.
"The government has proposed the South-North military talks be held after the
Oct. 1 Armed Forces Day," the source said.
Won Tae-jae, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, refused to confirm whether a
counterproposal was sent, saying negotiations for the talks are still under way.
"The ministry will not comment on the issue at this point of time as the two
sides still have a negotiation process to go through," he told a daily press
briefing.
Won noted the two sides still needed to set the date and venue of the talks, as
well as the agenda for what will be the first inter-Korean military dialogue in
over eight months.
Pyongyang has cut off all dialogue channels with Seoul since the inauguration of
the conservative Lee government.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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