Seoul — South Korea on Monday proposed military talks with North Korea, the first formal overture to Pyongyang by the government of President Moon Jae-in, to discuss ways to avoid hostile acts near the heavily militarised border. There was no immediate response by the North to the proposal for talks later this week. The two sides technically remain at war, but Moon, who came to power in May, has pledged to engage the North in dialogue as well as bring pressure to impede its nuclear and missile programmes. The offer comes after the North claimed to have conducted the first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier in July, and said it had mastered the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on the missile. South Korea and the US, its main ally, dispute the claim. "Talks and co-operation between the two Koreas to ease tension and bring about peace on the Korean peninsula will be instrumental for pushing forth a mutual, virtuous cycle for inter-Korea relations and Nort...
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