DHAKA: North Korea has sent an open letter to the South calling for reconciliation and an end to "hostile military acts".

The letter, published in North Korea`s state media, comes weeks before South Korea is due to hold joint military drills with the US.

South Korea dismissed the letter as having a "hidden motive".

Correspondents say that tensions on the Korean peninsula traditionally rise ahead of the annual drills, which Pyongyang has condemned as provocative.

Last year, the military exercises, known as "Foal Eagle", led to an unusually sharp and protracted surge in tensions. The North threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes, as nuclear-capable US stealth bombers flew practice runs over the peninsula.

The military drills scheduled for next month are a source of great irritation to the North, which sees them as aggressive preparations for war.

While North Korea is appearing to offer reconciliation, its rhetoric has been accompanied by thinly-veiled threats not to "rashly reject" the proposals, the BBC`s Lucy Williamson in Seoul reports.

The question on many minds is what the North will do when the drills go ahead, our correspondent adds.

BDST: 1452 HRS, JAN 24, 2014