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                S. Korea Accepts N. Korean Offer of Talks Sunday

   South Korea has accepted a North Korean proposal to hold working-level
   talks Sunday, but wants the venue changed to the border truce village
   of Panmunjom.
   Pyongyang unexpectedly offered Thursday to hold talks on a pair of
   stalled joint commercial projects. It also suggested humanitarian
   issues were up for discussion.
   Seoul responded by calling for ministerial-level talks in Seoul, but
   the North termed it premature to hold high-level talks and called for
   lower level discussions to be held in Kaesong. Pyongyang has not yet
   responded to South Korea`s request to change the venue.
   Talks between the two sides would mark a major reversal of tensions on
   the peninsula, which had been at their highest state in decades.
   The North`s statement Thursday said the talks between the two sides
   should include the possible re-opening of the Kaesong industrial
   complex, a jointly run factory north of the border that was shuttered
   in April amid heightened tensions. It also proposed discussing the
   resumption of cross-border tours to the North`s Mount Kumgang resort.
   South Korea halted visits there after the 2008 shooting death of a
   South Korean tourist by the North`s troops.
   The statement said humanitarian issues, such as the resumption of
   separated Korean families, can be discussed, "if necessary." It also
   promised to reconnect a severed communications hotline with Seoul at
   the Panmunjom truce village, if the South agreed to the talks.
   Korean relations sank to their lowest level in years following
   Pyongyang`s rocket launch in December and nuclear test in February,
   moves that led to expanded United Nations sanctions against the North.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/s-korea-accepts-n-korean-offer-of-tal
   ks-sunday/1677009.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/s-korea-accepts-n-korean-offer-of-talks-sunday/1677009.html