(From AFP)
South Korea on Monday rejected the latest proposal by the North to hold military talks, saying Pyongyang first needed to take steps towards abandoning its nuclear arsenal.
The North’s leader Kim Jong-Un offered the military dialogue during a speech to a recent congress of the ruling Workers’ Party — the first event of its kind for more than 35 years.
The North Korean military later urged Seoul to accept the offer to overcome the current “catastrophic state” of cross-border ties, proposing a preparatory working-level meeting in a message sent on Saturday.
But Seoul’s defense ministry, in a response sent across the border Monday morning, effectively rejected the proposal that it said made no mention of Pyongyang’s widely-condemned nuclear weapons programme, according to a ministry spokesman. Read More