South Korean officials say military talks with North Korea are moving forward in a "serious" atmosphere and without political posturing.
Colonels from the two countries met for several hours Tuesday and South Korea's Yonhap news agency said they agreed to meet again Wednesday. The talks are the first between the two Koreas since the North launched an artillery attack on a South Korean island in November.
The South's foreign ministry released a photo of the two officers shaking hands before the talks began in the border village of Panmunjom. A spokesman said the sides were discussing the agenda and process for a higher-level meeting and that "there were no political arguments from the two sides."
However the spokesman insisted that Seoul will not agree to a meeting between the two defense ministers unless the North takes "responsible measures" concerning its artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November and the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
North Korea denies responsibility for sinking the ship, the Cheonan, and claims the South provoked its attack on Yeonpyeong, which caused a spike in tensions on the peninsula.
North Korea abruptly changed its tone late last year, replacing its fiery rhetoric with appeals for negotiations to ease the tensions between the two. The North is seeking a resumption of six-nation negotiations on its nuclear programs, which it renounced last year.
The negotiations are aimed at setting terms under which North Korea would dismantle its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for foreign aid. Economic conditions in the North are believed to have worsened since severe flooding last year.