By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter

South Korea’s Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun on Wednesday proposed that inter-Korean high-level defense talks be held within this month to alleviate military tension in the West Sea.

``General-level officers from Seoul and Pyongyang should sit together to head off possible clashes in the West Sea at the peak of crab-catching season in May and June,’’ said the South’s chief negotiator during a keynote speech for the 14th Cabinet-level talks held in Pyongyang, North Korea.

A series of deadly skirmishes have occurred over the last several years when northern fishing boats have increasingly crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed border in the West Sea, into southern waters to catch crabs around this time of year.

The two Koreas agreed last February to hold the high-level talks, which were held only once in 2000, at the earliest time to lighten tensions and build confidence between the two sides. But the timeframe has yet to be decided upon.

Jeong also urged his North Korean counterpart Kwon Ho-ung to ensure that the working-level talks ahead of six-party talks this month make tangible progress to smooth out the 19-month nuclear standoff.

Touching upon the May 12 working group meeting in Beijing, China, Jeong said that proposals from participating nations _ the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia _ should be sincerely discussed to provide an impetus to the peaceful settlement of the nuclear crisis.

The South’s chief delegate proposed to offer relief and reconstruction plans to help victims of the massive explosion at the North’s town of Ryongchon on April 22.

Jeong proposed that another round of cross border reunions for families split during the 1950-53 Korean War be held around June 15 in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the historic 2000 inter-Korean summit.

During the four-day talks, which are the highest level of dialogue between the countries, North Korea is expected to ask for rice aid, most likely some 400,000 tons of rice as it did last year.

A five-member South Korean delegation on Wednesday arrived in Pyongyang for the talks, which run through till Friday.

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr