North Korea on Friday proposed holding military talks with the U.S. in the presence of the United Nations to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula and security guarantees.

The proposal was made in a statement issued by the chief of the North Korean People's Army Mission at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom.

The North proposed bilateral talks attended by a U.N. representative at any time and place mutually agreed by the two sides.

The proposal is seen as a move to discuss the Korean Peninsula peace regime included in the September 2005 joint declaration and the February 2007 six-way agreement.

Pyongyang said the proposal was in line with the agreement that the North and the U.S. respect the spirit of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.

It also urged Washington and the U.N. to abide by the truce until a new peace regime is established on the peninsula.