Anchor: As next year marks the 70th anniversary of the division on the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean government has proposed holding inter-Korean talks in January. Seoul’s unification minister said Monday that the South wants to hold discussions with the North on the issue of separated families of the Korean War.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: The South Korean Presidential Preparatory Committee for Unification has proposed inter-Korean talks for next month.
 
In a news conference on Monday, Seoul’s Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said the government has extended the invitation.

[Sound bite: Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae (Korean)]
"[We] officially propose to North Korea to hold dialogue in January next year on mutual interests between South and North Korea. [We] expect the North to positively respond to the offer."

The minister, who concurrently serves as the committee's deputy chief, made clear that the mutual interests with North Korea would include reunions of separated families of the Korean War.

He said the South wants to make the separated families’ wishes come true before the Lunar New Year, a three-day holiday beginning on February 18. On top of the goal of regularizing family reunions, the minister added Seoul aims to confirm the existence of remaining family members across the border and to allow the exchange of letters and video messages between them. 
 
In the message addressed to director Kim Yang-gon of the North’s United Front Department, the minister expressed hope that he or the deputy head, Chung Jong-wook of the Presidential Preparatory Committee for Unification, can meet with North Korean officials either in Seoul or Pyongyang or at another venue the two sides agree to. 
 
During the news conference, Ryoo also revealed the committee's plans for the peaceful unification of the two Koreas for the New Year, which will mark 70 years of the division on the Korean Peninsula.

He explained that the South wants to launch efforts to restore the homogeneity of the Korean people in 2015, discussing the prospect of working together with the North to preserve the linguistic and cultural legacy on the Korean Peninsula.
 
He also stressed that the South plans to launch specific measures for the envisioned peace park in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and an inter-Korean team to probe the ecology of the DMZ. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.