Seoul says North Korea talks must have no strings attached

SEOUL: North Korea must approach dialogue with South Korea with no strings attached if it genuinely wants to improve ties, a Seoul spokesman said on Friday, after the communist state's leader mooted bilateral talks.

Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-Un in his New Year speech said he was open to a summit with South Korea, but urged the United States and South Korea to stop their annual military exercises which he condemned as a "rehearsal of a nuclear war."