Dialogue between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea is a priority for improving the north-south relations and resolving the crisis on the Korean Peninsula,the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Saturday.

To eliminate the political and military confrontation, it is urgent to improve the north-south relations, the paper said in a commentary.

The both sides should respect and trust each other, eliminate the gulf, misunderstanding and mistrust to realize the reconciliation and cooperation, it added.

Talks between the authorities with power and duty are the most important in the north-south dialogue, it said.

Most of the issues in the north-south relations have to be settled through talks between the authorities, said the commentary.

As the DPRK proposal for military talks has removed all the obstacles to the north-south dialogue, the South Korean authorities should discard misgiving and prejudice and accept the proposal for constructive talks with DPRK immediately, said the commentary.

The DPRK would like to discuss all the significant national issues in the talks between authorities and believes the talks will have a good result, the commentary added.

The government, political parties and social institutions of the DPRK issued a combined statement on Jan. 5 to propose unconditional dialogue with the South Korean authorities to openly discuss the way to eliminate misunderstanding and distrust as well as achieve peace and prosperity.

Over the past month, concerned DPRK departments have proposed various talks with South Korea, including Red Cross talks, discussion for the resumption of tour of Mt. Kumgang, military dialogue, and talks on Kaesong Industrial Zone.

The two sides have agreed to hold north-south high-level military talks on Feb. 8.