SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A Seoul official says the rival Koreas have agreed to meet to discuss North Korea’s participation in the upcoming Asian Games in the South.

Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do says North Korea agreed Monday to meet at a border village on Thursday to discuss its plans to send athletes and cheerleaders to the games.

The participation in the games is part of measures North Korea recently proposed to lower tension between the rivals.

The announcement comes as the North has been conducting an unusually large number of missile and rocket tests.

Analysts say the launches indicate Pyongyang is aiming to keep bolstering its defense to cope with what it calls U.S. and South Korean threats unless the allies make major concessions such as scaling down their regular military drills.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.