South Korea offers dialogue session to North Korea

Seoul, Aug 11:

on Monday offered

a dialogue session on Aug 19 at the abandoned village of Panmunjom on the de facto border between the two Koreas.

"The government sent a proposal under the name of Kim Kyou-hyun, chief delegate of South Korea to the North via the inter-Korean communications channel this morning, proposing to hold the second inter-Korean high level meeting," Seoul's unification ministry said in a statement.

South Korea has proposed holding the meeting next week and asked North Korea to suggest a convenient date if necessary, Xinhua reported.

Seoul offered to meet at Tongilgak, the administrative building on the North Korean side of Panmunjom.

The ministry said it delivered its proposal to Pyongyang to discuss matters of mutual interest, including family reunions, during the dialogue.

The first inter-Korean high level meeting was also held in Panmunjom Feb 12.

This was the first meeting between the two Koreas in seven years and it ended without any concrete agreement after North Korea repeatedly demanded postponement of the South Korea-US joint military exercises.

IANS