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North Korea's push for better relations with South Korea continued Wednesday with the reopening of a cross-border hotline as it also sought talks on strengthening business projects. The two sides spoke to each other for 10 minutes via the restored Red Cross communication channel at the border village of Panmunjom, Seoul's Ministry of Unification said, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency. The North offered to revive the line earlier in the day and asked its South Korean counterparts to perform a technical examination, the ministry said. However, the South stuck to its conditions for any talks - that the North take responsibility for provocations including a deadly artillery attack and confirm it is serious about scrapping its nuclear program. "Our stance remains unchanged," Lee Jong-joo, spokeswoman for the unification ministry, told AFP after confirming that the North Wednesday sent an official message seeking economic dialogue. She also said the North had pushed for talks next month on restarting cross-border tours to its Mount Kumgang resort and on improving cooperation at the Kaesong industrial estate. In yet another message, the North renewed its call for reopening an office aimed at facilitating economic cooperation between the two estranged neighbors, expressing regret over Seoul's refusal to send South Korean officials back to the office, according to Xinhua. Seoul has said there are currently virtually no joint economic projects that would require the presence of South Korean officials at the office. Agencies |
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