ROK, DPRK to narrow differences in military talks

The two delegations from South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the one-day general-grade military talks were trying to narrow their differences on Thursday afternoon, according to South Korean official to the talks.

After their main discussions ended inconclusively earlier in the day, lower-level military officials convened two separate informal contacts which lasted into the late afternoon hours, said Moon Sung-mook, spokesman for the South Korean delegation.

"There is no concrete agreement yet," Moon said in a briefing, adding that informal discussions were going on to try to hash out a compromise.

The discussions, Moon said, had focussed on what action should be taken first by the two sides to effectively reduce tension on the world's most heavily fortified border.

South Korea suggested that priority be given to avoiding armed clashes on the disputed inter-Korean sea border, the Northern Limit Line (NLL), during June's crab-catching season. However, theDPRK side insisted that both sides first stop propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.

The South Korean delegation raised proposals again that both navies set up a telephone hotline, share a radio frequency, work out a joint signaling system and exchange information on checking illicit fishing activities in the western sea, Moon said.

Thursday's meeting at this South Korean mountain resort Mount Seolak, some 200 kilometers northeast of Seoul, was the second of its kind. Military delegations of the two countries on the Korean Peninsula held their first ever general-level meeting at Mount Geumgang in the DPRK last Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua