In an apparent sign of uneasiness over the incoming South Korean government's tough stance on North Korea, the communist North has proposed suspending the first inter-Korean dialogue of this year, citing "time constraints," the Unification Ministry said Monday.
The two Koreas planned to hold a working-level meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Kaesong, a North Korean city just north of the inter-Korean border, to discuss railway cooperation projects.
Pyongyang asked for a suspension of the talks because "it is the start of the year and there are a few things to prepare," through its liaison officer at the truce village of Panmunjom, the ministry said.
Topics of the talks included the repair of the just-reconnected cross-border railway on the western side of the Korean Peninsula and transporting a joint cheering squad of the two Koreas to the Beijing Olympics by train this year.
Last week, the transition team of the President-elect Lee Myung-bak unveiled a plan to merge the Unification Ministry into the Foreign Affairs Ministry as part of efforts to streamline the government. Pyongyang has yet to officially comment on Lee or the merger plan.
Experts worry that the closure of Unification Ministry, the top government office overseeing South Korea's engagement policy towards the North, could undermine the momentum of inter-Korean dialogue.
Lee, who takes office on Feb. 25, has vowed to take a tough stance on Pyongyang and seek a stronger alliance with Washington.