North Korea has unexpectedly agreed to hold military talks with the South to help ease tensions, according to a statement after three days of ministerial talks in Pyongyang.
The two countries - technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty - had already agreed at previous talks to hold military meetings, but the powerful North Korean military had yet to agree.
North Korea has been critical of US-South Korean military exercises, saying they were a pretext for an armed buildup aimed at attacking the North.
