SEOUL, May 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday stressed the need for a dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) though he urged Pyongyang to end nuclear and missile developments.
Ban said at a keynote speech at the opening of a forum at South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju that a road to dialogue with the DPRK should be sought again, urging the DPRK to stop any more provocations and return to a path of complying with international obligations.
If tensions escalate on the Korean peninsula, it will affect the regions beyond Northeast Asia, Ban said, noting that he wanted to make contributions in any way as a UN chief and an individual, according to local media reports.
The DPRK has recently proposed to South Korea holding talks on military matters, but South Korea flatly rejected it as the proposal mentioned no agenda on its nuclear development.
DPRK's Ministry of the People's Armed Forces sent a notice to South Korea's Defense Ministry on May 21, making overtures to hold a working-level contact for inter-governmental military talks at a convenient venue and date for both sides between late May and early June.
The proposal came a day after the DPRK's National Defense Commission offered dialogue overtures, and the DPRK's defense ministry repeatedly proposed to its South Korean counterpart for military talks on Tuesday again.
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