North and South Korea held low-level talks Tuesday, the first official sit-down between the two nations since the November shelling of a South Korean island that killed four people. Although the meetings were meant to prepare for more substantial discussions between the two nations, a defense official in Seoul said the North refused to bend on two crucial demands, admitting to neither sinking a South Korean warship in March of last year nor the November shelling. Military tensions have decreased since November—when many thought the peninsula was on the verge of war—but diplomatic tensions have remained. Another round of talks has already been scheduled for Wednesday.
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