South Korea has proposed a joint conference between North and South Korean state-run think tanks on the second day of the 21st inter-Korean ministerial talks.

Defying expectations, the North did not openly protest the South’s decision to postpone its delivery of rice aid.

In a keynote speech, Seoul proposed the holding of a joint academic conference to discuss a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of an inter-Korean economic community.

The South also asked the North to hold bilateral defense ministers' talks to discuss easing military tensions and the gradual reopening of cross-border railways.

Seoul also demanded that the two Koreas deal with the repatriation of South Korean prisoners of war and fishermen abducted by the North in a channel separate from the inter-Korean Red Cross talks.

North Korea responded by urging South Korea to abolish its National Security Law and stop joint military exercises with the U.S.

The North’s demands are interpreted as an indirect expression of discontent about the South’s postponement of rice aid.