SEOUL, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Rare military talks between North and South Korea ended Monday without progress to ease tensions across their heavily fortified border.
Military officers from the two rival Koreas met at the truce village of Panmunjom for the first time since the communist country conducted missile tests in July, but failed to find a way to put strained inter-Korean relations back on track, South Korean officials said.
"No agreement was made today. But both sides will review the demands from each other," Army Col. Moon Sung-mook, the South's chief delegate, told reporters after the border talks.
During the two-hour talks, the North's side demanded a halt to anti-communist propaganda activities by conservative South Korean civic and religious groups, Moon said. "I pointed out that they should understand the diversity of South Korean society," Moon told said.
The South's delegates called for the resumption of inter-Korean defense chiefs' talks, as well as Pyongyang's guarantee of the safe operation of cross-border railways during the talks.
The military meeting was the first military contact since both sides held general-level talks in May to discuss ways to reduce tensions on the world's last Cold War frontier.
Inter-Korean economic ties improved significantly after their landmark 2000 summit, but the rivals have yet to come up with any substantial measures to reduce military tension.
