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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Koreas start preliminary military talks |
| 2011-02-08 |
| SEOUL -- Military officers from South and North Korea Tuesday began preliminary talks to lay groundwork for a higher-level meeting, a defense ministry official said, the first meeting since the North's deadly bombardment of a border island. "The working-level military talks started at around 10:00 a.m. as scheduled in the Demilitarized Zone," said an official at the Defense Ministry. The colonel-level talks are aimed at setting the date, place and agenda for higher-level talks, possibly at the level of defense ministers. But the South's defense ministry said it won't agree to ministerial-level talks unless North Korea apologizes and takes "responsible measures" for the Nov. 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and the torpedo attack of a South Korean warship last March. The preliminary talks are led by Col. Moon Sang-gyun of the South and Col. Ri Son-kwon of the North, who have served as representatives for working-level military talks from each side for years. South Korean military officials were still cautious about the prospects of the working-level meeting. "There is the possibility that the preliminary talks may end at a level where the two sides confirm each other's stance," a military official said. "The two sides could hold several rounds of preliminary talks." After sharply raising tensions with the two attacks last year, North Korea started this year with what South Korean officials called a "peace offensive" by repeatedly calling for talks with the South. Last month, South Korea accepted the North's proposal for the preliminary military talks. The development followed a U.S.-China summit, during which the leaders of Washington and Beijing agreed that inter-Korean dialogue is necessary before resuming the six-party talks. |
| Posted by:Steve White |