By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea apparently rebuffed South Korea's offer to hold inter-Korean talks,Thursday, according to the government Wednesday.
The Ministry of Unification said Pyongyang's National Defense Commission (NDC) demanded Cheong Wa Dae choose whether to hold high-level talks or "stick to spreading the anti-North Korea leaflet campaign" over the inter-Korean border.
In a fax message sent via a hotline, the NDC referred to the airborne leaflet propaganda repeatedly carried out by civic activists here this year. Pyongyang has openly threatened to cancel inter-Korean talks if the campaign continues.
"We find it regretful that it became difficult to open high-level talks on Oct. 30," unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said. He added that the government has no right to prohibit the leaflet campaign.
"We remain unchanged in our attitude to settle inter-Korean issues via dialogue, but it doesn't mean we can accept inappropriate demands by North Korea.
"It's questionable whether Pyongyang is willing to improve inter-Korean ties," he added.
The government said last week the leaflet distribution campaign was a form of "freedom of expression" guaranteed under the Constitution.
It also said the balloons that carry the leaflets across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) are not considered "lightweight flying devices." Such devices require the government's approval for operation in advance under the Aviation Law.
South Korea had offered to hold the high-level talks on Oct. 30 following an agreement between the two Koreas on Oct. 4.
Back then, three of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un's close confidants ― Hwang Pyong-so, Choi Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon ― made a surprise visit to South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games.
The trio reached a deal to hold a second round of inter-Korean talks late this month or in early November at their meeting with National Security Adviser Kim Kwan-jin and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae.
On Oct. 13, Seoul proposed to fix the date for talks as Oct. 30 in a message delivered to Pyongyang via the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
The unification ministry said holding the talks next month remains a possibility.
Conservative civic groups such as Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK) have continued to send the leaflets that have infuriated Pyongyang for years.
FFNK is comprised of citizens who escaped from North Korea.
Their leaflets are intended for people brainwashed by the ideology of the repressive regime.
Pyongyang condemned Seoul Sunday for failing to prevent a group of activists who floated balloons carrying 20,000 leaflets critical of the regime across the DMZ the day before from Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.
On Oct. 7, the two Koreas exchanged machine gun fire after North Korea shot at balloons carrying leaflets released by the FFNK from Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
North Korea apparently rebuffed South Korea's offer to hold inter-Korean talks,Thursday, according to the government Wednesday.
The Ministry of Unification said Pyongyang's National Defense Commission (NDC) demanded Cheong Wa Dae choose whether to hold high-level talks or "stick to spreading the anti-North Korea leaflet campaign" over the inter-Korean border.
In a fax message sent via a hotline, the NDC referred to the airborne leaflet propaganda repeatedly carried out by civic activists here this year. Pyongyang has openly threatened to cancel inter-Korean talks if the campaign continues.
"We find it regretful that it became difficult to open high-level talks on Oct. 30," unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said. He added that the government has no right to prohibit the leaflet campaign.
"We remain unchanged in our attitude to settle inter-Korean issues via dialogue, but it doesn't mean we can accept inappropriate demands by North Korea.
"It's questionable whether Pyongyang is willing to improve inter-Korean ties," he added.
The government said last week the leaflet distribution campaign was a form of "freedom of expression" guaranteed under the Constitution.
It also said the balloons that carry the leaflets across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) are not considered "lightweight flying devices." Such devices require the government's approval for operation in advance under the Aviation Law.
South Korea had offered to hold the high-level talks on Oct. 30 following an agreement between the two Koreas on Oct. 4.
Back then, three of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un's close confidants ― Hwang Pyong-so, Choi Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon ― made a surprise visit to South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games.
The trio reached a deal to hold a second round of inter-Korean talks late this month or in early November at their meeting with National Security Adviser Kim Kwan-jin and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae.
On Oct. 13, Seoul proposed to fix the date for talks as Oct. 30 in a message delivered to Pyongyang via the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
The unification ministry said holding the talks next month remains a possibility.
Conservative civic groups such as Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK) have continued to send the leaflets that have infuriated Pyongyang for years.
FFNK is comprised of citizens who escaped from North Korea.
Their leaflets are intended for people brainwashed by the ideology of the repressive regime.
Pyongyang condemned Seoul Sunday for failing to prevent a group of activists who floated balloons carrying 20,000 leaflets critical of the regime across the DMZ the day before from Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.
On Oct. 7, the two Koreas exchanged machine gun fire after North Korea shot at balloons carrying leaflets released by the FFNK from Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
