Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A senior North Korean military officer met the US-led UN command in South Korea today.  It is the first meeting between a Pyongyang official and a UN representative in seven years.

“North Korea requested this meeting to discuss tension reduction,” the U.N. Command said in a news release without offering further details of the talks. They were held 10 am (local time) at Panmunjom truce village inside the Demilitarised Zone that has divided the peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire.

For weeks now Pyongyang has been heightening tension in the area.  The communist regime this week announced the launch of a test-flight of its longest-range missile, which is designed to carry a nuclear weapon as far as Alaska and the Western seaboard of the United States. The launch could possibly take place on March 8th next in Donghae, North Hamgyong province, to mark the renewal of the National parliament.

According to an anonymous source from the South Korean ministry for Defence the summit between the UN and North Korea ended “after less than an hour” with “no special outcome”. “The two sides had positive discussions on easing border tension and measures to build mutual trust – reports the source - But the two sides have not set a date for the next meeting”.