WASHINGTON - SOUTH Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed on Thursday the creation of the first liaison offices in the capitals of the two Koreas, which are technically in a state of war.

He told the Washington Post newspaper in an interview during his visit to the United States that the proposed offices in Seoul and Pyongyang would act as a permanent communication link.

'When I go back, and this is the first time I am publicly making this recommendation and suggestion: we need ... to open a permanent dialogue channel between the two Koreas,' the new South Korean leader told the Post.

'I don't think that is helpful in the situation,' he said.

Unlike his two predecessors, conservative Lee has promised a firmer line on North Korea, linking aid to nuclear disarmament in a move that has angered the hardline communist state.

The North has kicked South Korean officials out of a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, test-fired missiles and accused Seoul of breaching the country's sea border.

Pyongyang has also threatened to turn its neighbor into 'ashes.'

But Mr Lee said the two Koreas were in an 'adjustment period' after he took over in February, following 10 years of rule in Seoul by liberal presidents who preached engagement.

'Both North and South Korea must change their ways,' Mr Lee said. 'It is not sufficient for North Korea to resort to their old ways.'

It is not known how North Korea would respond to his proposal for permanent communication links between the neighbours.

Since the 1990s the United States has urged Seoul to take this step, but this is the first time it has been officially proposed by a South Korean president, the Post said.

The Korean War ended in 1953 with a truce, not a peace treaty, which means the sides are still technically at war. -- AFP