Pyongyang calls for talks between lawmakers

By Kim Young-jin

Pyongyang on Friday called for the two Koreas to hold talks between their respective lawmakers and resume joint tourism projects in the North in order to defuse tension.

Calling for the talks, the North’s committee in charge of inter-Korean affairs said, "Dialogue and negotiations are the only way for averting a war, defusing confrontation and improving the inter-Korean relations," the North's Korean Central News Agency reported.

It added it is essential to hold “dialogue between the authorities with real power and responsibility.”

Seoul’s Ministry of Unification shrugged off the proposal, calling it a “routine offensive.”

"We are currently discussing opening military talks and have proposed separate talks to confirm the North's willingness to denuclearize," said ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung.

The South has proposed that the two Koreas meet for preliminary talks on Feb. 11 to pave the way for the high-level military talks, which would be the first such dialogue since the North raised tensions in November by shelling Yeonpyeong Island. Pyongyang has yet to respond.

Earlier in the day, the North’s Unification Committee issued a separate statement urging the sides to resume joint tours to the Mt. Geumgang resort and the ancient Korean capital of Gaeseong, both in the North.

"If we quickly restart tours to Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong and revitalize exchange programs, then peace and reunification will be that much closer," it said.

The tours to Mt. Geumgang, a symbol of reconciliation between the two sides, were suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier for allegedly wandering into a restricted area.

Earlier this year, North Korea froze and seized South Korean facilities at the resort, including a Seoul-owned family reunion center, in a bitter response to the South's refusal to resume operations.

The tours are a lucrative source of hard currency for the impoverished nation, which is reeling from international sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile tests.

Tensions between the two Koreas have soared in the wake of two attacks by the North last year, the sinking of a South Korean warship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong, which combined killed a total of 50 people including two civilians.

Analysts say the North will try to resume multilateral aid-for-denuclearization talks this year in a bid to bolster its economy as it attempts a father-to-son power transfer.

Some predict it could reach out to opposition parties here in a bid to divide public opinion.