Koreas hold closed-door military talks 국방부 "남북, 오늘 판문점서 군사당국자 접촉"

High-level military brass from South and North Korea held talks today,... for the first time in seven years. Seoul′s defense ministry confirms the secretive meeting took place but added that no major breakthroughs were made. Our Hwang Sung-hee has more on where we go from here. The two Koreas held a secretive round of military talks on Wednesday in attempts to ease tensions in their border regions. Seoul′s defense ministry said general-level officers met at the truce village of Panmunjom after Pyongyang proposed the meeting last week. North Korea demanded three things: that South Korean vessels steer clear of the maritime border, that the South Korean government keep activists from flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border... and that the media stop slandering the North Korean leadership. In response, South Korea said Pyongyang must respect their de facto maritime border in the West Sea and that the government cannot stop the spread of the leaflets and restrict the media since South Korea is a liberal, democratic society. Last week, South and North Korean patrol boats exchanged fire after a North Korean vessel crossed the de facto maritime border in the West Sea. Three days later, the two Koreas exchanged gunfire across their shared border after the North fired at South Korean balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets. The defense ministry said Wednesday′s meeting was kept secret due to escalating military tensions following the recent clashes. But no concrete agreement was reached, with no date set for their next meeting. Meanwhile, the unification ministry confirmed that it proposed to the North on Monday the date for their planned second round of high-level talks The ministry said South Korea offered to meet on October 30th at Panmunjom but is still waiting for a response from the North. Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News.