The official said that South Korea will upgrade its anti-missile defense system to counter the North’s provocations since the North is likely to continue its testing of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear tests in 2016.
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Pyongyang’s chief delegate was Jon Jong Su, vice director of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea.
The North had focused on resuming lucrative, long-suspended South Korean tours to its scenic Mount Kumgang resort, while Seoul’s priority was to discuss setting up regular reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. “We emphasized that the issue of family reunions, which is a humanitarian issue, was different in character from resuming tourism on Mount Kumgang, and that it was inappropriate to link the two”.
In the end, neither issue was addressed as both sides failed to agree on a mutual acceptable way to kick off the discussions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (left).
There was no indication that the two sides had discussed the elephant in the room for any North-South dialogue – Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Monday that it is anticipating the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s positive response to its expected dialogue offer, though it has no detailed plan yet for such dialogue proposal.
“Slandering and defaming the opposite party is a source of trouble that spoils the mood of talks and tie-mending”, the mouthpiece claimed Sunday.
The talks started a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said the country had developed a hydrogen bomb, a claim treated with scepticism by US and South Korean intelligence officials.
The vice-ministerial meeting over the weekend was, in part, the result of a breakthrough agreement on August 25, when both sides agreed to hold high-level talks to work on improving relations.
However, with the breakdown in negotiations, some experts have expressed doubt over the prospect of future talks.
The North Korean government wanted to resume “cross-border tours of the Mount Kumgang resort”.
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“It is an intolerable provocation”, it said, adding that Seoul had thrown away “a rare opportunity to improve relations”.
