North Korea rejects South Korean proposal to resume reconciliation talks

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
North Korea rejected on Sunday a proposal by South Korea's president to resume stalled reconciliation talks, calling his offer a "deceitful" tactic to avoid taking responsibility for deteriorated ties between the nations. North Korea's main state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said in a commentary that under South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's proposal was not even worth considering. Lee offered in a speech Friday to resume government-level talks with North Korea, which were suspended after his inauguration in February. "Why are more talks necessary?" the North Korean newspaper said. "Lee's anti-unification, confrontational charter was clearly revealed" through his speech, it said. "Lee Myung-bak is attempting to avoid taking responsibility for worsened North-South relations and mislead public opinion to resolve a crisis with deceitful remarks," it said.