By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of National Defense proposed Friday that South and North Korea hold military talks to address communication, stalled tourism projects and customs clearance on Feb. 23 at the truce village of Panmoonjeom.
The proposal came following an agreement during the inter-Korean talks on the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in January that the three agenda items would be discussed during the military talks.
While North Korea has not responded to the offer, Won Tae-jae, spokesman of the defense ministry, is optimistic that the meeting will take place.
"Earlier, the North had made an offer to hold military talks. So I think that the North will accept our proposal," he told reporters.
If the North accepts the proposal, the defense ministry will team up with an official from the Ministry of Unification, who participated in the previous Gaeseong talks, to form a delegation.
The intra-ministry team will be led by the director of the North Korea Policy division at the defense ministry, Won said.
In addition to the three issues, the delegates from the two Koreas are expected to discuss the recovery of war remains during the Korean War (1950-1953).
The last inter-Korean military talks took place on Oct. 2, 2008.