ROK, DPRK agree to defuse tension after talks

National Security Adviser of the ROK Kim Kwan-jin (R), Unification Minister of the ROK Hong Yong-pyo (2nd R), Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Yang Gon (2nd L), and Hwang Pyong-so (L), the top military aide to the DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un, shake hands after the inter-Korean high-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in this picture provided by the Unification Ministry and released by Yonhap on August 25, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed Tuesday to defuse the tension on the peninsula following a 43-hour dialogue.

The DPRK expressed regrets over landmine blasts, which maimed two soldiers of the ROK and ROK will stop all loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts from Tuesday noon in frontline areas, according to Seoul's officials.

Under the six-point agreement, both sides also agreed to hold an inter-governmental dialogue in Seoul or Pyongyang at an earliest possible date to improve ties and to go ahead with talks and negotiations in various areas.

Pyongyang agreed to release the earlier order of a state of war.

The two sides agreed to hold a working-level Red Cross contact in early September for the reunion of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War during the upcoming Chuseok holiday that falls in late September.

Seoul and Pyongyang also agreed to facilitate private-sector exchanges in a wide range.