By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

Top military officers from the two Koreas will sit down for eye-to-eye talks on May 26 at North Korea’s resort mountain of Kumgang.

The Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday that North Korea proposed the first round of high-level inter-Korean military talks be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 26 at Mt. Kumgang.

``A preparatory meeting between inter-Korean liaison officers will be held at 10 a.m. on May 14,’’ the ministry said in a statement.

Divided more than half a century after the 1950-53 Korean War, the two Koreas agreed on the top-level military talks thanks to last-minute consent by the Northern delegation during the latest inter-Korean ministerial talks last week.

Experts say the two sides are expected to deal with measures to prevent clashes along the volatile western sea border during crab-fishing season, which is to begin in late May.

The Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the South and North, has been a source of deadly conflicts between the Koreas. The navies of the two sides had a bloody naval conflict in the area in 1999 and 2002, causing high casualties on both sides.

``Starting with that issue, both sides will be able to move on to other essential military matters such as easing tensions and building up confidence on the divided peninsula,’’ a ministry official said.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr