North Korea on Thursday proposed high-level military talks with South Korea to discuss "pending issues" following months of high tension, Seoul's defence ministry said.
The North's defence minister Kim Yong-Chun sent the proposal to his counterpart in the South, Kim Kwan-Jin, a ministry spokesman told AFP, adding that Seoul is discussing how to respond.
Cross-border relations worsened sharply when South Korea last May accused the North of torpedoing one of its warships with the loss of 46 lives, a charge Pyongyang denies.
Tensions rose even higher after the North bombarded a South Korean border island in November, killing four people including civilians.
In a change of tack in 2011, the North has been calling for talks, but Thursday's offer was the first proposal for a high-level meeting.
Seoul has dismissed previous peace overtures as insincere.
It says the North must take "responsible measures" over past provocations and promise not to repeat them, as well as confirming it is serious about nuclear disarmament, before any dialogue can take place.