North Korea Agrees To More Talks As Tension Rises

North Korean Army officers will meet the U.S.-led United Nations Command on August 10, as tensions simmer on the peninsula.

The United Nations Command said North Korean military officials have agreed to a colonel-level meeting at the Panmunjom truce village that straddles the border between the two Koreas.

It said the meeting -- the fourth in a month -- will discuss the date, agenda, and protocols for talks between military generals about armistice issues that are related to the sinking of a South Korean warship in March in which 46 sailors were killed.

South Korea, backed by the United States, blames the North for torpedoing the ship. North Korea denies any involvement.

In recent weeks, North Korea has criticized a series of military drills by the United States and South Korea off the divided peninsula.

Adding to tension on the peninsula, the North on August 8 seized a South Korean fishing vessel with seven people on board off its east coast, claiming the boat violated its exclusive economic zone.

compiled from agency reports