South Korea has proposed holding high-level dialogue with North Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom next Tuesday.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said during a press conference on Tuesday that when making the proposal, Seoul took into consideration that the PyeongChang Olympics are a month away.

He expressed hope that the two Koreas will hold sincere talks on the North's participation in the Winter Olympics and ways to improve inter-Korean relations.

Cho said the inter-Korean communication hotline in Panmunjom, which was severed in February 2016, should be swiftly normalized for the high-level talks to take place. He expressed hope that the North will show a positive response to fine-tuning details on the proposed talks through the hotline.  

If the talks take place, it would be the first time that the two Koreas hold high-level talks since December 2015. 

Earlier on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for talks with South Korea to defuse military tensions as well as negotiate North Korea's participation in the Olympic Games.