DPRK proposes inter-Korean parliamentary talks

Xinhua, February 3, 2011

The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday proposed talks with the South Korean parliament, the official KCNA news agency reported.

In a letter sent to the South Korean parliament, the DPRK said contact and negotiations of lawmakers between the sides were "out of the steadfast will to defuse the acute situation of the Korean Peninsula, improve the north-south relations and open up a new phase for peace and reunification."

"It is quite natural for the parliaments of the north and the south to sit face to face to discharge their responsibility and duty now that military talks are to be opened between the two sides," the letter said, hoping a positive response from South Korea.

The DPRK and South Korea agreed to hold working-level military talks on Feb. 8.