The government has proposed working-level talks with North Korea on the joint excavation of the remains of pro-independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Friday made the proposal to North Korean senior cabinet councilor Kwon Ho-ung, adding he will seek Chinese support depending on the results of the talks.

A Unification Ministry official said the excavation talks will discuss information exchanges, methods and procedures.

In 1909, Ahn assassinated the first Japanese governor general of Korea, Hirobumi Ito, who was a key figure in Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula. Ahn was executed five months later.