SEOUL, Aug 2: North and South Korea prepared to resume talks on Friday as the North made a new surprise gesture by complying with UN military officials’ offer to discuss a deadly naval clash.

The North’s military said it wants to hold talks next week about the inter-Korean gunbattle incident late June, The US-led United Nations Command (UNC) said

The offer, which came after a series of similar attempts to forge links with the outside world, coincided with a trip by a delegation of South Koreans to the North’s scenic Mount Kumgang aimed at jumpstarting inter-Korean dialogue.

US officials said the North wants the military generals’ talks to open at the border village of Panmunjom on Aug 6, after weeks of refusing offers from the UNC and South Korea to discuss the June 29 clash.

“UNC is reviewing the response from the KPA (North Korean people’s army), which requested a meeting for early next week,” UNC said in a brief statement.—AFP