South Korea has again urged North Korea to accept a proposal to hold bilateral talks on the denuclearization of the North.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Unification Ministry also said that the North’s willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions must be confirmed in order to achieve a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and to improve inter-Korean relations.

Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said the ministry is repeating such calls as the North has yet to respond to an initial request the ministry made on January tenth for denuclearization talks.

Chun added that the ministry has no plans to send an official letter to Pyongyang to propose bilateral denuclearization talks, saying that Seoul has already emphasized that spokesman statements are to be regarded as official proposals.

The ministry’s statement comes as South Korea has asked the North to hold preliminary talks to prepare for high-level inter-Korean military talks.