SEOUL: South and North Korea on Tuesday were to resume talks about a potential volcanic threat from the peninsula's highest mountain, in a rare example of cooperation after months of confrontation.
Four South Korean experts headed for the North's border town of Kaesong for a second round of talks on ways to deal with any eruption at Mount Paektu, unification ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo told AFP.
"Talks are scheduled to start at 10:00 am (0100 GMT) at Kaesong but we won't be able to give details until the delegation returns to the South," she said.
At the first such meeting on March 29 at the South Korean border city of Munsan, the two sides agreed on the need for joint research into potential hazards from the mountain on the border between North Korea and China.
The North offered access to the peak for the South's experts.
The meeting between volcanic experts followed a request from the North despite icy relations between the two Koreas.
It reflected heightened concern about natural disasters after an earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan and crippled an atomic power plant.
Since its last eruption in 1903, the 2,740-metre (9,042-foot) volcano, considered sacred by both Koreas, has been dormant. But experts say topographical signs and satellite images suggest it may have an active core.
The South's National Institute of Environmental Research said in a recent report that an eruption could lower temperatures by two degrees Celsius in northeast Asia for two months, devastating agriculture.
Cross-border relations have been tense since the South accused the North of torpedoing a warship in March 2010 with the loss of 46 lives.
Pyongyang denies the charge but went on to shell a South Korean island last November, killing four people.
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