South Korea proposes new talks with North Korea

The seemingly contradictory moves reflect Seoul's stance that it is unwilling to fully restore frayed ties with the North unless Pyongyang signs on to a deal to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.

South Korea has sought to limit any inter-Korean talks to individual issues. One of its meeting proposals for this week is to discuss flood prevention and the other is to seek ways to reunite separated families.

The South proposed that working-level officials of the two sides meet Wednesday at a North Korean border city to discuss how to prevent floods in the Imjin River running through their heavily armed border, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said.

Separately, the South also proposed that Red Cross societies of the two sides hold working-level talks Friday at a North Korean mountain resort to discuss reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, Chun said.

The spokesman said the South made the dialogue proposals because the two issues need to be discussed with priority before any other matters, but he said, "We are not considering proposing high-level talks."

North Korea has not responded immediately to the offers.

North Korea released a massive amount of water from a dam into the Imjin River on Sept. 6 without giving Seoul advance notice, triggering floods that swept six South Koreans who were camping and fishing downstream to their deaths.

The South demanded the North explain why it opened the floodgates abruptly, and the North responded that it "urgently" had to release water because the water level at the dam was too high.

"These talks could be helpful in preventing the South-North relations from worsening, but I don't think they are enough to fully repair the relations," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies.

Yang said the South should first propose high-level talks if it wants to improve relations with the North.

The Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, which means that the two Koreas are still technically at war.

Their ties had warmed significantly following the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000, but soured again after conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office early last year with a pledge to get tough with Pyongyang's communist government. Lee has linked aid to the North's nuclear disarmament.

In recent months, the North has sought to reach out to Seoul amid U.N. sanctions for its May nuclear test, toning down its threatening rhetoric, releasing detained South Korean citizens and pledging to resume stalled joint projects.

The two sides last held talks in August and agreed to resume reunions of families separated by the war.

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