Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok has proposed to North Korea the joint development of the mouth of Han River running through the two Koreas.

In his keynote speech at the inter-Korean ministerial talks in Pyongyang Saturday, he said the joint development in the neutral areas of the river could raise inter-Korean cooperation under the 1953 armistice.

He said joint excavation of sand in the estuary will help ease periodic flooding of towns near the river.

Forming the meeting point of the Han River in South Korea and the Yesong and Imjin rivers in North Korea, the estuary is near Kaepung and Yonan counties in North Korea and Gimpo and Ganghwa counties in South Korea.