South Korea says it is ready to meet North Korea and hold high-level military talks, but it is insisiting on conditions that it had already set for the talks to proceed.
North Korea's ruling party opened its biggest meeting for 30 years on Tuesday, amid rumours that Kim Jong-Il is preparing to hand over power to his youngest son.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is belived to be visiting China, according to South Korean officials. And he may be accompanied by his youngest son and possible heir apparent.
US and South Korean forces practised attacks on potential seaborne North Korean infiltrators on Tuesday as part of a four-day naval exercise designed to deter the communist state.
