SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea began their first working-level military talks in two years Thursday, Seoul's Defense Ministry said, as Pyongyang vowed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent in response to what it called US threats.
Officers from the two sides met in the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, the ministry said. They last held such talks in October 2008.
At the United Nations, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil Yon said Wednesday that Pyongyang would continue to expand its nuclear arsenal in order to deter what it perceives as American and South Korean aggression in the region.
"As long as the US nuclear aircraft carriers sail around the seas of our country, our nuclear deterrent can never be abandoned but should be strengthened further," Pak said.
