The Royal Nepal Army will recruit 5,000 more soldiers in the next three months. RNA spokesperson Colonel Dipak Gurung told media more force would help create pressure on the Maoists to think seriously about dialogue. The RNA has intensified its search and cordon operations-Gorakh I and Gorakh II-in Rukum and Rolpa, the hotbeds of the insurgency. Gurung said that there had been no change in the army's tactics, and that if the government declares a ceasefire it would "act accordingly".