South Korea has proposed that inter-Korean experts hold a meeting in mid-May concerning the feud surrounding the name of the "East Sea."

The Unification Ministry in Seoul says that South Korea's Northeast Asia History Foundation made the proposal in a telephone message to North Korea's Academy of Social Sciences on Friday. The foundation suggested that the meeting be held in the North Korean border city of Gaesong.

The foundation has also asked North Korea to convey its stance on the East Sea naming issue to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) by Monday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the North's Academy of Social Sciences sent a message to the South Korean foundation, proposing a joint stance on the naming issue between South and North Korean historians.

A Unification Ministry official says that an IHO working group has recently notified the two Koreas of the idea of naming the East Sea the "Japan Sea." South Korea has conveyed its opinion on the idea to the IHO, but the North has yet to do so.