DPRK calls for end of inter-Korean hostilities

BEIJING - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) called for ending hostilities between the two sides of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, urging practical measures to be taken to prevent a "nuclear disaster." But the appeal failed to draw positive responses from South Korea or the United States.

The National Defense Commission (NDC) of DPRK made a three-point proposal to South Korea, saying the inter-Korean relations could thaw, including on issues such as the families separated by war, if the two sides make concerted efforts to implement the proposals starting January 30, the Lunar New Year, the official KCNA news agency reported.

The NDC called for practical measures to be taken to halt "all acts of provoking and slandering the other side" and "all hostile military acts" for establishing a climate to improve north-south relations.

The NDC urged South Korea to abandon joint military exercises with the United States, including the computer-simulated "Key Resolve" command post exercise and the "Foal Eagle" field training exercise scheduled from late February to April.

The NDC specially proposed "stopping all acts provoking the other side on the ground and in the sea and air including five islands in the West Sea," hotspots where both sides are in acute show-down, adding that the DPRK will take "practical action first for the realization of this proposal."

The commission also stressed that the DPRK still wants denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, urging South Korea to abandon "Double Acts" - attaching itself to the United States while denying a nuclear deterrent to its "same nation," the DPRK.

"It is high time to terminate the vicious circle between the same nation and make amiable atmosphere," said the proposal, expecting an "echo" from South Korea.

In response, South Korea expressed regrets over the DPRK's fresh appeal Friday, urging Pyongyang to take"real action" to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

"It is very regrettable for North Korea (the DPRK) to distort facts and mislead public opinion while making ridiculous claims," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do told reporters at a regular press briefing.

On Wednesday, the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said Seoul and Washington must cancel their annual military drills as they are "little short of the declaration of an all-out nuclear war."

Last year, the US Air Force's B-2 stealth bombers, which can carry nuclear weapons, conducted its first-ever firing drill in South Korea during joint exercises.