By Kim Young-jin
North Korea proposed Thursday a moratorium on cross-border “slander,” to be implemented by Jan. 30, saying it would prevent a “calamity” over planned South-U.S. military drills.
The proposal from the North’s National Defense Commission (NDC) came a day after Pyongyang threatened an “unimaginable holocaust” over the allies’ annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises, slated to begin in late February.
The statement carried by the official (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said “practical steps” should be taken with the aim of halting military provocations ahead of Lunar New Year, which falls Jan. 31
"The proposal is a move that can lift the specter of nuclear calamity," the statement claimed, before reiterating that Seoul should not carry out the drills.
If the plan is carried out, progress could be made in proposed reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, the committee claimed.
Last year, the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises ― considered routine defense drills ― led to a severe uptick in cross-border tension, with the Kim Jong-un regime ramping up its fiery rhetoric.
In a New Year speech, Kim called for better inter-Korean relations.
The NDC added that “provocations” near the Seohae Islands, just south of the West Sea demarcation line, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, be halted. The area has been a flashpoint for naval clashes in recent years.