21 July 2017

News Report: South Korea Unrelenting After North Snubs Rare Military Talks Offer – Reports

South Korea has urged the North to respond to its offer of first military talks in years after the deadline passed for holding a high-level bilateral meeting on Friday, media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Seoul offered on Monday to stage the talks at a "truce village" in the demilitarized zone. But Pyongyang left the call made through media unanswered after previously cutting all hotlines, the Yonhap news agency said.

"The Ministry of National Defense once again calls on the North to respond positively to our offer as soon as possible," a ministerial statement read, as cited by the agency.

South Korean military again stressed the importance of deescalating tensions between the two countries after the North tested what it said was its first intercontinental ballistic missile. Earlier this month, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said that a dialogue was urgently needed and called for a peace truce.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.