S. Korea proposes holding second round of volcano talks with N. Korea

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A top South Korean negotiator proposed holding talks with his North Korean counterpart next week to further discuss possible volcanic activity on the North Korean mountain hailed as the sacred birthplace of leader Kim Jong-il, an official said Wednesday.
The South Korean geology professor proposed in a message to the North earlier in the day that the meeting be held in the North Korean border city of Kaesong next Tuesday, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.
The proposal comes a week after scientists from the two Koreas held their first meeting in a South Korean border town on volcanic activity at Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea hopes that experts from the two Koreas will have in-depth discussions on whether there is any volcanic activity in the North, said Lee.
The North first proposed the meeting in mid-March amid mounting fears of natural disasters after a powerful earthquake in Japan spawned a gigantic tsunami that swept the country's northeast and claimed more than 12,000 lives.
The volcano last erupted in 1903, but incidence of minor earthquakes increased in the vicinity between 2002 and 2005.