No agreement in Korean military talks

North and South Korea failed on Wednesday to resolve their differences on how to ease tensions, following recent altercations along their border.

"The mood of the meeting was sincere as both sides were serious about improving ties, but this was the first meeting [in quite some time] and there was a difference in view that we were not able to narrow," said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.

The ministry said the two sides came together for their first military talks since February 2011, following a proposal by the North.

The two countries traded fire twice last week; the first incident occurred when a North Korean navy vessel sailed into southern territory in the Yellow Sea near the island of Yeonpyeong.

The second exchange of fire was reported on Friday, with no casualties. Activists from the South had launched balloons carrying tens of thousands of leaflets denouncing the dictatorship in Pyongyang. Northern forces shot at the balloons, with some of the bullets landing in the South's territory, which then retaliated with gunfire.

North Korea has long criticized the leaflet drops as provocative, threatening to respond with force to them. But Friday was the first time it actually followed through with the threat.

Sixty-year-old disputes

During Wednesday's meeting, North Korea repeated demands that the South ban media criticism of Pyongyang and activists from leaflet drops. The South countered that it could not do this, as the country is a liberal democracy, spokesman Kim said.

Their naval disagreement is over a sea boundary drawn unilaterally by the American-led UN command at the end of the 1950-53 war without the North's consent. A long dispute over the area has seen clashes kill many sailors on both sides.

While the Korean War ended over half a century ago, the neighboring countries technically remain at war because they signed a 1953 armistice, not a peace treaty.

Hopes for better relations were given a boost earlier this month, after a group of high-level North Korean officials made a rare visit to South Korea.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is back after vanishing from the public spotlight for nearly six weeks. This somewhat quietened rumors that he was gravely ill or deposed.

Pyongyang's state news agency published photos of the young Kim on Tuesday - walking with a cane.

jr/msh (AP, Reuters)