The Foreign Ministry says it encourages North Korea to agree to hold inter-Korean talks for denuclearization.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters on Tuesday that Seoul has been steadily pushing for such discussions, commenting on Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei’s reported proposal of a step-by-step plan for dialogue with the goal of resuming six-party talks. China's proposed process is said to begin with talks between the two Koreas.

Cho said, however, that dialogue for dialogue’s sake is meaningless. He urged North Korea to be sincere during the step-by-step meetings and begin with improving inter-Korean relations if the six-way talks are to succeed.