A senior North Korean official has reportedly suggested The Elders, an independent group of former global leaders, that North Korea is willing to hold high-level talks with South Korea.

A Korean scholar in the U.S., familiar with activities of The Elders said that a high-ranking North Korean official asked the group to deliver to the South that North Korea is willing to hold high-level inter-Korean talks in January next year.

The Elders is known to have accepted this request. The group is expected to send a working-level team to Seoul to deliver the intent to the South Korean government, and plans to visit North Korea immediately following that.

The scholar claimed that this proposal by the North could be a preparatory move for a summit between the two Koreas.