South Korean political parties have received letters from North Korea, calling for meetings between respective lawmakers to defuse tensions, in a move that analysts view as another conciliatory move by Pyongyang.
The letter said North Korean government officials, as well as political parties and non-governmental organizations in the country, hope to consult and meet with their South Korean counterparts at any time and any place, said Wang Gang, a Seoul-based correspondent for the Global Times.
North Korea's proposal came shortly after its military said it would no longer seek talks with the South, blaming a lack of willingness from Seoul to improve ties between the two countries.
However, "North Korea still needs economic and humanitarian assistances from the South, so it is seeking ways to resume talks with Seoul," Lü Chao, director of the Center of South Korea Studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
"North Korea has especially asked for food assistance from many countries recently, since it has been suffering from severe shortages," he added.
Pyongyang recently asked Washington to send food aid, and said that it was willing to allow as much monitoring of the aid "as the US wants," AFP reported.
Meanwhile, UN food agencies have begun sending missions to North Korea to probe the food-shortage situation, which could lead to an emergency operation to help millions of North Koreans who risk starvation.