Panmunjom

A US soldier under disciplinary action has fled to North Korea across the border with South Korea, Reuters reported, citing US officials.

North Korea was silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas' heavily fortified border although it test-fired short-range missiles Wednesday in its latest weapons display.

North Korea has requested that working talks on sending its athletes to next month's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics be held on Wednesday at the truce village of Panmunjom, the South's unification ministry said in a mobile text message.

South and North Koreas plan to hold a working-level meeting before January 20 to discuss North Korea's participation in the forthcoming Olympic Games in South Korea's PyeongChang, Yonhap said on Thursday, citing a source in Soul's ministry of unification./ TASS

South and North Korea began their first formal talks in more than two years Tuesday to discuss the North's potential participation in next month's Winter Olympics and ways to improve their long-stalled ties.

The high-level talks started at 10:00 a.m. at the truce village of Panmunjom in the heavily fortified border area, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

North Korea agreed on Friday to hold official talks with the South next week, the first in more than two years, hours after the United States and South Korea delayed a military exercise amid a standoff over the North's nuclear and missile programs, reported Reuters.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon offered on Tuesday high-ranking government talks with North Korea next week at the border village of Panmunjom, a day after Pyongyang suggested talks despite sticking to its nuclear ambitions, Reuters reported.

A North Korean soldier defected to the South on Monday after being shot and wounded by the North Korean military, the South Korean military said.

The soldier, who defected via the border village of Panmunjom, was being treated in hospital, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The United States signaled a tougher strategy toward North Korea on Friday that leaves open the possibility of pre-emptive military action and rejects talks with the communist nation until it gives up its weapons of mass destruction.

North and South Korean officials met for talks on Nov. 26 to further ease tensions after they ended an armed standoff in August, their latest attempt to revive dialogue stalled for  five years.