<p>North Korea has been ratcheting up regional tensions since it fired a long-range rocket over Japan in April, and on Thursday the hermit state put two female US journalists on trial accused of illegally entering its territory with “hostile intent”.<br />Analysts say the pair, who were working for the Current TV network co-founded by former US vice-president Al Gore, has become bargaining chips in high-stakes talks with the US, which has long sought to end the North’s nuclear ambitions.<br />In a separate move on Friday, North Korea proposed talks with the South over a joint factory enclave that is the only major link between the rival states, more than a month after the last attempt at dialogue broke down in acrimony.<br />South Korea accepted the proposal for a June 11 meeting over the Kaesong park just inside the communist state, where about 100 South Korean firms use cheap North Korean labour and land to make goods, a Unification Ministry official said.</p>
<p>North Korea has been ratcheting up regional tensions since it fired a long-range rocket over Japan in April, and on Thursday the hermit state put two female US journalists on trial accused of illegally entering its territory with “hostile intent”.<br />Analysts say the pair, who were working for the Current TV network co-founded by former US vice-president Al Gore, has become bargaining chips in high-stakes talks with the US, which has long sought to end the North’s nuclear ambitions.<br />In a separate move on Friday, North Korea proposed talks with the South over a joint factory enclave that is the only major link between the rival states, more than a month after the last attempt at dialogue broke down in acrimony.<br />South Korea accepted the proposal for a June 11 meeting over the Kaesong park just inside the communist state, where about 100 South Korean firms use cheap North Korean labour and land to make goods, a Unification Ministry official said.</p>