Nigeria, Aug. 16 -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has proposed talks with North Korea, its northern neighbour, to end the long-running Korean War.

The president made this call while speaking at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, the BBC reports.

"Let us put down our intentions to threaten each other and begin discussions to end the long-running war as the directly involved parties," he said.

The proposal comes a few days after North Korea declared that the US-South Korea military drills set to commence on Monday were a provocation that heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The joint drill is an annual military exercise that Pyongyang regularly labels as rehearsals ...