A state-run North Korean paper on Saturday called on Seoul to unconditionally come to the negotiating table to diffuse cross-border tensions.
The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said that if South Korea was truly interested in reconciliation, it should accept dialogue without demanding pre-conditions.
The paper carried by the Korean Central News Agency claimed policymakers in Seoul have rejected talks in the past and threatened to escalate tensions.
It added that the North is only interested in improving inter-Korean relations to create an atmosphere of peace that can eventually lead to unification, and called on South Korea to show its sincerity to ease tensions.
The paper's latest calls for talks come as the North has started demanding resumption of talks in the face of mounting domestic food shortages and concerns that unrest in some North African countries such as Libya may start to pose problems.
Earlier in the week, Uriminzokkiri, Pyongyang's main Internet based media, called on Seoul to work to ease tensions and stop war games.
Inter-Korean relations that had started to go downhill after the conservative President Lee Myung-bak took power in early 2008 took a turn for the worst last year when Seoul accused the communist country of sinking one of its warships in the Yellow Sea in late March.
The North also worsened relations by shelling Yeonpyeong Island just south of the South-North maritime border that killed four people, including two civilians. The attacks effectively halted all economic aid and other forms of exchange.