ROK, DPRK holding military talks: media

The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday are holding military talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, local broadcaster YTN reported.

Military officials from the two Koreas started a dialogue from 10 am local time (0100 GMT) in Panmunjom, according to the report without elaborating on details.

Earlier on the day, Yonhap News Agency reported citing unidentified government sources that the two Koreas "are preparing for military talks to the effect of easing military tensions," noting that the ROK and the DPRK are in consultations to hold the dialogue "soon."

Seoul's Unification Ministry said by phone that it can neither confirm nor deny the report.

The report came after the two Koreas exchanged fires last week. On Oct 10, the DPRK fired machine gun toward balloons carrying anti-DPRK leaflets floated by a ROK civic organization, mainly made up of "defectors" from the DPRK. After some of the bullets fell south of border, the two Koreas traded machine gun fires.

On Oct 7, naval ships of the two Koreas exchanged fires near the disputed western sea border after a patrol ship of the DPRK violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

Another source was quoted as saying the notice Pyongyang sent to Seoul right after the Oct 7 incident served as the momentum to holding the inter-Korean military talks.

On the agenda would be how to ease tensions near the NLL and the issue on the scattering of anti-DPRK leaflets, which Pyongyang has urged Seoul to stop.

The last working-level military dialogue between the two Koreas was held in February 2011, and the general-level talks were last held in December 2007.