S. Korea proposes military talks with N. Korea to resolve border location issue

Baku, October 23, AZERTAC South Korea renewed its offer Friday to hold military talks with North Korea to discuss their conflicting views on where the inter-Korean border sits, seeking to deescalate tensions sparked by last month's land mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to Yonhap News Agency. Seoul and Pyongyang have traded sharp rhetoric since South Korea blamed the North for the Sept. 21 mine blast inside the DMZ that injured three South Korean troops.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility and vowed to take military actions along the border, if needed. "Different perceptions remain over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)," Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol said in a press briefing, referring to the border line separating the two Koreas. "South Korea's Defense Ministry hereby officially proposes holding inter-Korean military talks with North Korean authorities to jointly verify the locations of the land-based MDL, restore military communication lines and discuss measures to prevent accidental clashes along the border," he said. Kim said trilateral dialogue involving the U. N. Command (UNC), which administers and…