中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
The Republic of Korea (ROK) is considering proposing a preparatory meeting with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for talks over ending its nuclear program, the Unification Ministry said on Monday.
The ROK has accepted the DPRK's proposal last week to hold high-ranking inter-Korean military talks to discuss pending military issues, including its alleged torpedo attack and shelling of an ROK border island, and is mulling separate talks between high-ranking government officials from the two sides to discuss denuclearization.
The defense ministry also said it plans to propose a date for a working-level meeting this week to prepare for the high-ranking military talks Pyongyang proposed.
"Ministries concerned are currently discussing details of the proposals," ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-ju told reporters in a press briefing, without elaborating.
The military talks, if held, will mark the first major contact between the two estranged neighbors after they suspended nearly all exchanges following a series of military provocations by Pyongyang.
They would also follow the recent summit between the Chinese and US leaders, who called for improved inter-Korean ties and Pyongyang's commitment to its pledges of denuclearization.
"As soon as (internal) discussions conclude, we will be making a proposal to the North on high-level military talks and also official meetings on denuclearization," said Lee Jong-ju.
"We need to look more at whether we can make the proposals for those talks at the same time or with a time differential," she said.
An ROK Defense Ministry official said on Monday a set of working-level talks will probably take place in mid-February to set the dates, venue and agenda for a high-level military meeting, and the ROK's proposal will likely be made this week.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula rose sharply last year when a ROK navy ship was sunk by a torpedo attack in March that Seoul blamed on Pyongyang. The DPRK bombarded a ROK island late in the year, the first such attack in decades.
"The government continues to hold the position that we need to check how serious the North is about denuclearization," said Lee of the Unification Ministry.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
Todd Balazovic is a reporter for the Metro Section of China Daily. Born in Mineapolis Minnesota in the US, he graduated from Central Michigan University and has worked for the China Daily for one year.
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