North Korea and South Korea Talks Scheduled for November 26

South Korea has accepted an offer from North Korea to hold talks on November 26, Seoul officials have confirmed.

The talks, to be held at the Panmunjom truce village, will set the stage for high-level meetings which were agreed in principle in August.

That deal followed a stand-off in August that began with landmine explosions on the border and involved an exchange of artillery fire.

South Korea said it had sent requests for meetings before but had no response.

North Korea and South Korea are technically still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

In August 2015, a landmine explosion at the heavily militarized border seriously injured two South Korean soldiers.

In response, South Korea resumed its abandoned practice of blasting propaganda over the border, and evacuated people from the border region. North Korea said it had put its military on a “war footing”.

Tensions bubbled over in a brief exchange of fire at the heavily guarded border.

After crisis talks, South Korea agreed to turned off the loudspeakers while North Korea agreed to step down its military.

The agreement included a pledge to resume talks on improving ties, and to hold the first reunions for families separated during the Korean War in over a year.

North Korea also expressed regret over the mine explosions, though later clarified it was not accepting responsibility for the blast.