North Korea proposed Friday working-level inter-Korean talks be held in Gaeseong over the weekend in preparation for the ministerial dialogue offered by Seoul.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) said that Pyongyang wants the talks to be held on Sunday at the border town just north of the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas. The communist country on Thursday made a surprise proposal to hold comprehensive talks between government authorities and asked South Korea to pick the date and venue for the gathering.

Seoul's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, citing diverse issues that need to be touched upon, called for a ministers' meeting to be held in the South Korean capital on Wednesday. If the talks are held, officials from the two sides can tackle such outstanding inter-Korean issues as the normalization of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the Mount Kumgang tours.

Operations at the Gaeseong complex were halted on April 9 after the North ordered its 53,000 laborers not to report for duty. Tours to Kumgang were halted in July 2008 after the shooting death of a female South Korean tourist by a North Korean guard.

"We appreciate the fact that the south side promptly and positively responded to the proposal made by us for holding talks between the authorities of both sides," the comment by the CPRK spokesman monitored in Seoul said. The official said that working level contact between the authorities of the two sides is necessary prior to ministerial-level discussions because bilateral relations have been stalemated for years and the sharp peak in mistrust.

Related to the inter-Korean talks, the committee in charge of conducting discussions with the South also said that it will restore Red Cross liaison channels starting at 2 p.m.

Besides Gaeseong and Mount Kumgang, the two sides could exchange views on holding reunions for families separated by the Korean War (1950-53) and to arrange for the joint celebration of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration reached in 2000 and the July 4th North-South Joint Statement inked in 1972.

South Korea's Ministry of Unification, meanwhile, said that it is reviewing the counter-proposal made by the North and will announce its decision within the day. He said policymakers are reviewing options on what actions to take.

"We think the North has entered the government level dialogue process called for by the South," said a ministry source, who declined to be identified. He expressed hope that talks will move forward once the two sides meet that can build trust and lay the foundation for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The official added that despite Pyongyang's calls for the holding of a joint event to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the June 15 declaration, Seoul's stance remains unchanged.

"The government said working-level government talks must be held first and since such an event has not occurred, Seoul's position remains unchanged," he said.

The government had banned participation of South Korean groups at the event scheduled to take place in the North. Authorities here claimed the North is trying to use the gathering to fuel internal discord within the South. (Yonhap News)