SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea has officially proposed talks to ease tension with South Korea, but Seoul has dismissed the move as an attempt to win aid.
The North's state-run media has previously pleaded for renewed talks. This time the South's Unification Ministry says the North Korean government sent a message Monday calling for government talks on Jan. 27.
The South says the North also called for Red Cross talks on jointeconomic projects. The North also said it would restore a cross-border communication channel between the Koreas and allow South Korean officials back to an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea.
North Korea shelled a front-line South Korean island in November, killing four people.