North Korea is open to immediate talks with rival South Korea if Seoul responds to several preconditions for dialogue, a North Korean military official told The Associated Press on Thursday. Read more: www.time.com...

The North's defense commission also said South Korea should apologize for failing to show proper respect to Kim Jong Il during the mourning period that followed the late leader's Dec. 17 death. It also posed questions about Seoul stopping criticism of Pyongyang over two deadly 2010 attacks blamed on North Korea, and following through on previous agreements that call for South Korean investments in the North. The North also said U.S.-South Korean military drills must end. "It does not make sense to sit face to face with (an) enemy carrying a dagger by the belt and talk about peace," the North's statement said. Pyongyang calls the drills a rehearsal for war. A round of military exercises by the allies is to start later this month Read more: www.time.com...