SEOUL: South Korea has dismissed a North Korean call for unconditional talks to ease tensions, saying Thursday the offer was “propaganda” it does not take seriously. The North's move on Wednesday came as the United States met Chinese and South Korean officials for talks on how to calm the Korean peninsula and persuade the North to stop its nuclear work. Seoul, which wants an apology after North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island off disputed waters in November, said Pyongyang's call for talks was an empty gesture. “North Korea previously issued statements like this early in the year . They are normally done as part of (a) propaganda campaign toward the South,” a Unification Ministry official said. “We do not consider this is as a serious proposal for dialogue. It is not even in the correct and appropriate format.” The artillery fire, and the March 2010 sinking of a South Korean ship blamed on the North despite its denials, have raised tension in Asia and increased the pressure to resume talks. Washington, which is urging Beijing to rein in its ally North Korea, has sent its envoy Stephen Bosworth to Asia for talks. He is in China on Thursday and will be in Japan on Friday. Analysts say Pyongyang's military aggression and unveiling of a previously-undisclosed nuclear enrichment facility are ways of raising the stakes ahead of potential six-party talks, a forum in which it has previously won substantial aid. “Both sides had a deep exchange of views on the situation on the Korean peninsula and on the six-party talks,” China's Foreign Ministry said after Bosworth met with officials. “Both sides agreed to continue working hard to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and to push forward the six-party talk process.” Although both Koreas have called for dialogue to solve the crisis, the South, like Washington, is loath to be seen rewarding the North's actions with the talks and concessions it desires.
