South Korea has accepted North Korea’s proposal for high-level defense talks but suspicion remains high on both sides. Seoul continues to demand an apology from North Korea for the sinking of the naval ship Cheonan in March and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November, the Associated Press says. South Korea has rejected North Korea’s earlier called for talks and labelled them as insincere. The country said it plans to propose separate talks to verify North Korea’s commitment to abandon its nuclear program.