Dozens of South Korean civic groups on Monday urged the two Koreas to defuse escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula by seeking a peaceful resolution through dialogue.

Tensions have been simmering over the communist North's bellicose rhetoric and actions against the South and its allies after Pyongyang faced fresh U.N. sanctions for its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 and last month's joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington.

An association of 24 progressive civic groups, including the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, held a press conference in front of the National Assembly building and called on Seoul and Pyongyang to strive for a peaceful resolution to the tensions.

"The current conflict on the Korean Peninsula will never be resolved through nuclear armament and buildup," the association said in a statement.

"The two sides should put down the guns aimed at each other, and opt for peace through dialogue and cooperation," it said, calling for dialogue to resume operations of the joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong and for concluding the peace agreement.

Since April 3, South Korean workers have been prevented from entering the Kaesong Industrial Complex as the communist country suspended operations last week of what is seen as the last-remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation.

In a separate press conference in front of the U.S. embassy building in Seoul, the Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea, a progressive civic group, urged the two neighbors to "seek a path to reconciliation, peace and co-existence."

"The conclusion of a peace treaty and disarmament of the Korean Peninsula will allow the Seoul government to halve its defense budget of more than 34.3 trillion won (US$30.6 billion) and greatly improve the lives of the people with better welfare services," the group said.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The conservative civic group Citizens United for Better Society held a separate news conference in downtown Seoul, urging the North to halt provocations and give up on its nuclear weapons and missile program, while asking for the South Korean government to "respond to the North sternly." (Yonhap News)