The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) began preliminary military talks at the neutral inter-Korean village of Panmunjeom on Feb. 8.

It is the first inter-Korean meeting since the artillery exchange between the two sides on the RoK’s Yeonpyeong island on November 23, 2010.

The talks are expected to discuss the venue, date and agenda of the high-level military talks, possibly involving the defence ministers of both countries.

The RoK’s Yonhap news agency quoted a RoK military official as saying that both sides would conduct further rounds of negotiations./.