Asia-Pacific

DPRK proposes meeting with US on Cheonan sinking

Updated: 2010-07-09 22:34

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday proposed a preparatory meeting prior to its scheduled high-level military talks with the United States on the issue of the sinking of the Republic of Korea (ROK) warship Cheonan.

State-run news agency KCNA reported that the head of the DPRK side to the military general-level talks had sent out a notice proposing the preparatory meeting at the senior colonel level to be held on July 13 at Panmunjom.

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At this preparatory meeting issues concerning the convention of the general-level talks between the two sides would be discussed, the news agency quoted the DPRK head as saying in the notice.

According to the KCNA, the head said the DPRK had decided to accept the US proposal of a military general-level talk after South Korean authorities turned down the DPRK's proposal to hold a North-South talk among the military at a high level.

The DPRK proposal showed the "unshakable will of the army and people of the DPRK to probe the truth" behind the "Cheonan" case in an objective, scientific and fair way, the head of the DPRK side to the general-level talks added.

The head was quoted as saying that if the US truly wanted to solve the warship case and keep the peace and security on the Korean Peninsula it should seriously respond to the DPRK proposal "carrying the good faith and magnanimity of the army of the DPRK."

A spokesman of the DPRK foreign ministry issued a statement Tuesday urging ROK to accept the DPRK proposal of holding senior North-South military talks over the "Cheonan" case.

Cheonan, a South Korean corvette, sank on March 26 near the coast. ROK has blamed the DPRK for sinking the ship with a torpedo.