Pyongyang, Aug 14 (IANS): North Korea Thursday urged South Korea to lift economic sanctions and cancel the scheduled military drills with the US. It called for improved inter-Korean relations.

North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) said that Pyongyang would like to take the opportunity on the occasion of Independence Day Friday to open a new phase in relations between the two Koreas, Xinhua reported.

Friday will mark the 69th anniversary of Korea's independence from the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

The committee demanded that the two Koreas end hostile acts and take realistic actions to eliminate barriers to reconciliation, unity and reunification.

It urged South Korea to lift the May 24 sanctions.

The May 24 sanctions were imposed by Seoul in 2010 when the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan sank near the disputed western sea border, banning all inter-Korean exchanges except for the joint factory park in Kaesong, the North Korean border town.

The Seoul-led multinational investigation team claimed the sinking was caused by North Korea's torpedo attack, but Pyongyang repeatedly denied its involvement in the incident, which claimed lives of 46 sailors.

The statement also called on South Korea to cancel the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint military drill with the US, scheduled for this month, saying that overcoming the abnormality on the Korean peninsula should start from the US ruling of South Korea.