UNITED NATIONS, June 7 (UPI) -- The initial steps toward diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula could lay the foundation for long-term trust on both sides, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
The South Korean government this week proposed meeting with its North Korean counterparts at the ministerial level in Seoul to address long-standing issues threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Ban issued a statement through his spokesman's office saying he welcomed efforts to settle lingering Korean issues.
"This is an encouraging development toward reducing tensions and promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," his late Thursday statement said.
North Korea's official Central News Agency reported Friday negotiations were proposed for the weekend at the border town of Kaesong. Operations at an inter-Korean industrial complex at the border town were shuttered in April as a consequence of ongoing regional tensions.
Ban described the border complex as a "valuable bridge between the two countries."
South President Park Geun-hye is to visit Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in late June to discuss regional tensions.
Talks among the Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States were suspended in 2008. North Korea has since conducted a series of nuclear tests, most recently in February.
